The Man Who Fell to Earth
by aikakone
Summary: After a date on her birthday, Umi and her boyfriend accidentally run over a strange man. He looks like someone Umi knew in Cephiro, but he has no memory of who he is. Will Umi throw away the love she has for the illusion of someone she loved long ago?
1. Happy Birthday, Umi!

**CHAPTER 1:  
****Happy Birthday, Umi!**

Ryuuzaki Umi nervously stroked the blue dragon brooch at her neck. She'd received it this morning as a birthday present from her boyfriend Scott. She turned twenty-four today, and had been living in America roughly four years. It wasn't like she was unused to travel. It was ten years previous that she had taken not one but two trips to that foreign world of Cephiro.

She didn't talk about that experience to any others besides Fuu and Hikaru because no one else would believe her if she did. Those lovely girls would always be her dear friends. She knew that in her heart, so the fact that she had not spoken to them in a while, except for the birthday calls this morning, did not truly bother her. She knew they would be there the instant she needed them.

Umi had always done well in school, and since English was her favorite subject, she decided to take a university study in the United States. It was here that she met Scott. They had been dating each other regularly for a year.

Scott Templeton was a kind young man, as were his parents. He had a soft spot for animals and was going to be a veterinarian. His parents liked helping children so much that they had a private school of sorts for troubled youth with special needs. That sense of giving to others really appealed to Umi after having been twice to Cephiro, so it was easy for her to fall for Scott.

Scott was going to take her out to dinner tonight. He said he had a surprise for her that she would never expect. She joked that since it was her birthday, it had to be something related to that, but he wouldn't tell her exactly what his plans were.

In the meantime, it was her coworkers at the Templeton Ranch who were making Umi nervous. They were bringing out a birthday cake to her, and it looked like a disaster in the making. The cake was huge and covered in candles. If they dropped the cake or if any of the candles fell, they might well set the whole place on fire. In Cephiro, she would have easily extinguished the flames with her water-based magic. Back on earth, she could do nothing but watch her friends with a growing sense of trepidation.

When the cake was safely put on the table, she let out the breath she didn't realize she'd been holding.

"Don't sound like that!" her friend Jessie teased. Jessie worked teaching the children math and a few of the leisure sports. "You have to save your breath to blow out the candles."

"I wasn't sure you'd get the cake in here without dropping it," Umi admitted. "You know cakes are my specialty. Why didn't you let me do it?"

Steve ambled over to her with a snigger on his face. "Well, duh, Umi! It's your birthday, so you can't cook!"

She grimaced but did not reply.

"So," Joan, another coworker, said, clapping her hands together excitedly, "let's get this party started!"

The rest of the people around her gave sounds of agreement. She was surprised at how many of her coworkers got involved, but Scott had told her that morning that it's because everyone loved her. He did have to wink and tell her that he loved her the most, though.

Umi laughed at him then because he was being his incorrigible, charming self. She'd always enjoyed being with Scott, which was why they'd been a couple for a while. He then gave her the dragon she wore at her neck and the promise for an interesting date in the evening because he couldn't attend this afternoon party with their work friends.

"Hey, beautiful dreamer," Steve said with a nudge. "Earth to Umi! Blow out the candles on your cake."

"Make a wish, Umi!" her friends chanted to her.

She looked around at them, smiling at each one. She was about to open her mouth to speak, when Jessie interrupted.

"You can't tell us your wish, silly! If you do, it won't come true. Now blow out the candles!"

Umi tucked a strand of her long hair behind her ear and thought of her heart's greatest wish. She didn't see anything specific but took a moment to feel what that desire might be. After a while, she felt warmth radiating in her heart that was so strong she couldn't tame it. She wasn't sure what the wish was, but the former Water Knight then blew out the candles on the cake.

Applause erupted from those around her. She was then hugged by her friends and handed several gifts.

"Have your family and friends in Japan called you?" Joan inquired politely when she sat down beside Umi.

She gave a short nod once while she held on to her cake plate. "I spoke to my parents and my best friends Hikaru and Fuu this morning."

"That's good, sweetie," the older woman said as she clasped Umi's knee reassuringly. Joan taught the children history and social studies, and she was often asking Umi questions about Japan.

"It's not Japan she's thinking about for this evening, is it?" Jessie asked with a mischievous look in her eyes. "I've heard Scott has something important he wants to ask her."

"What is that?" Steve joked, playing along with Jessie's game. "He has a question to ask her? I wonder what that could be!"

"I wonder, indeed," Joan said playfully as she cast a sidelong glance at Umi.

Umi's blue eyes were filled with pure innocence. "What do you mean? What's this important question he has to ask me?"

"Oh, Umi," Jessie said as if she thought Umi was the sweetest thing in the world. Umi remembered that tone for one she'd used herself with Hikaru on several occasions when she told her how cute she was. "You'll just have to see, and then come back and tell me all the details!"

"So when's lover boy going to pick you up?" Steve asked between bites of cake.

"He said six o'clock. We're driving off to some fancy restaurant in the city," Umi said with a smile on her face. Scott had told her to dress formally, and she enjoyed her few chances to do that.

"You'd better get ready soon, Umi, or else you won't look stunning enough for Scott," teased Joan.

Jessie gaped at the older woman. "That sounds like something I would say! Don't mind her, Umi. You know Scott is head over heels for you."

Umi laughed at her trio of friends. "I have just the outfit to wear, but it's still a few hours away. I think I'll get my work done before I get ready."

Steve nodded at the sense of that. "It leaves you free to enjoy the evening."

"Yes, and it helps me not count the minutes!" she said with a smile.

After that, Umi went to her small office and finished random paperwork she had waiting for her. That was the trouble with paperwork. There was always something to do, even when one had a birthday.

-&-

Scott Templeton adjusted the bowtie at his neck. He had put on a black and white tuxedo, and he hoped Umi would find his appearance dashing. His brown hair was cut short, and his green eyes revealed the excitement he was feeling.

He double-checked the contents of his pocket. Yes, the little box was still there. He'd ask her tonight. He had all the romantic moments planned so it would be perfect.

He laughed to himself as he remembered something Steve had teased him about earlier.

"_In Japan, she's Ryuuzaki Umi, right?"_

"_Yes, of course she is. Joan made sure to tell us everything when Umi came to work for us," Scott said with an exaggerated sigh about Joan's enjoyment about everything Japanese, including Umi._

"_So if she marries you and she keeps her own name, will she be Ryuuzaki Umi Templeton?" Steve said with a laugh at his own joke._

Scott didn't know about that exactly, but to his mind's ear, Umi Templeton had a fabulous sound to it. It first had to start with the ring he had in his pocket.

Finally pleased with his appearance, he walked the short distance to the garage and picked one of his father's finest vehicles. Richard Templeton had been successful in stocks and bonds before deciding he would rather feel stress in a different way—by giving back to the community.

They all lived and worked on the same compound, so picking Umi up at her door was not that much of a trip. He said he would, though, and he wanted to do it in style. He gingerly walked to her door and knocked three times.

Time ticked ever so slowly. He thought she'd open the door right away and run out to give him a hug and a kiss if he was lucky. Instead she didn't do either of those things. The sound from inside was stark silence.

"Umi?" he called out from her doorstep.

After a moment, he heard the sound of feet moving lightly on the other side of the door. The young woman opened the door, and Scott lost his breath.

Umi's hair was piled elegantly on top of her head. There was a thin scarf around her hair to keep it up, and wavy tendrils were falling down. She wore a form-fitting dark blue sequined turtle neck halter top, black slacks and black high heels. She was fumbling to put on her earrings.

"I'm sorry," she apologized. "I couldn't find the right kind of earrings. I had to get a pair from your mother."

Umi had never pierced her ears. For that matter, neither had Hikaru or Fuu had pierced ears, though it was common for earth girls to do so. She noted that most of the men she'd met in Cephiro had pierced ears, though. Clef had these gold hoops that could barely be seen from under his jeweled headdress, but they were there.

_Clef_… she thought with an errant sigh, and immediately brought her attention back to the moment.

"Shall we go?" Scott asked, holding his arm out chivalrously.

"Yes!" she smiled brightly as she entwined her arm with his.

-&-

The evening had gone splendidly as Scott had planned. The flowers were Umi's favorites; the meal was prepared to perfection. The dessert they'd just finished was delectable. Now was the moment of truth.

His hand shook as he reached over to take hers. "Umi, I have one last thing to give you if you'll accept it."

"But I can't possibly accept another birthday present!" she said with good-natured surprise. "I love my dragon pin, and this date has been… one that Jessie will surely keep me up late asking about all the details over and over gain."

"The pin does look good on you," Scott said, admiring the blue dragon at his girlfriend's neck, "but this isn't technically a birthday present."

"What is it?" she asked as if she couldn't fathom what it could possibly be.

He cleared his throat. "I love you, Umi, more than I love anyone else. I must do this the right way, though," he said with a rueful expression.

Scott slipped out of his own chair to kneel beside Umi. Then he took the ring box out of his pocket and opened it to show her the diamond solitaire inside. "Umi Ryuuzaki, would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"

Her eyes widened. It finally registered in the back of her brain what the hints from Jessie and the others had meant.

"Thank you," she said in shock as he put the ring on her left hand.

"Does that mean you'll say yes?" he asked with a look of hope and a slight expression of fear that she would refuse him.

Umi mutely nodded and reached for him. Scott hugged her close like she was the most precious thing in the world, and to him she was.

-&-

On the drive home, Scott was chattering like mad with all the plans that he had for their life together. Umi could have laughed because she'd usually seen American girls do all the wedding planning, not the men. She had no doubt that Scott truly cared for her, and it made her heart feel light.

_At least you know for certain how he feels about you_, a voice inside herself said. She frowned, wondering where that remark came from when this was one of the happiest moments in her life.

_That's not true, Umi_, the inner voice teased. _Some of your happiest moments were spent doing nothing. With _him.

_It doesn't matter. None of it matters_, she reasoned with herself. _I'll never see Cephiro again._

"Umi!" Scott said with a smile as he reached for her hand. "I've been talking so much, and I haven't even let you tell me what your plans are. I'm so sorry, love!"

"I don't mind," she covered.

He took that small amount of encouragement and continued talking even more about his ideas for a house and children. They'd buy their own horses, too. Umi could even take up fencing again if she wanted.

He continued to talk so much that he wasn't really watching the road. Since they were going back to the ranch, there usually weren't other vehicles to worry about, but Umi thought she saw something ahead of them.

"Stop!" she cried out as she realized what it was.

"What is it?" Scott asked with a laugh, not seeing the man that was standing in front of them as still as a deer caught in the headlights.

"Stop the car!" she shouted desperately as they got closer.

He looked and finally saw the other man near them and immediately slammed on the breaks. It was too late, and they hit him head on.

Umi screamed, defensively putting her arms up in front of her face. Her forehead slammed into the dashboard of the vehicle, and her consciousness turned to black.


	2. Tabula Rasa

**CHAPTER 2:  
****Tabula Rasa**

A bright light was shining on his face, and he had a heavy weight on his chest that was almost unbearable. Scott blinked wondering what it was when he realized the light was coming from a flashlight held by a police officer, and the weight was from the airbag that had deployed.

"This one's awake," the officer shouted to his partner. Addressing Scott, he asked, "What's your name, son?"

"Scott," he coughed, "Scott Templeton."

"And your companion over there?" the officer asked shining a light on the back of Umi's head.

Scott looked and saw that she was bleeding. Her lovely, soft blue hair was beginning to matt with a sticky, dark substance that could only be blood. "Umi!" he gasped.

"Oomee," the officer repeated.

"Oh, my god! Is she going to be okay?" the young man asked with his voice full of worry.

"Calm down, son," the older officer said. "Getting upset won't help any of you."

"We just got engaged," Templeton started to babble. "Today's her birthday. Her favorite color is blue…"

While the one man talked aimlessly, the officer's partner called out to him from the ground in front of the car, "This one's out cold. I'm calling dispatch to send an ambulance. I think his leg's broken."

"The girl in here's unconscious, and the boy is conscious, but in a state of shock," the officer relayed so they could give the information to the early responders.

"Did you see him before you hit him?" the officer asked Scott again with a gentle voice.

"No," Scott breathed in bewilderment. "I was talking wedding plans when all of a sudden he was just there. My girlfriend—is she going to be okay?"

"The paramedics are on their way," said the officer.

The next unit of time was a blur for Scott as the paramedics came and put man they'd run over into the ambulance. When they'd lifted him up, he got a quick glimpse at him. He had a thick bush of hair that was light, not quite blond and too close to old lady lavender to be very masculine. When the paramedics freed Umi, they put her on a stretcher beside him in the ambulance. Scott was shaken and not quite right himself, but he rode to the hospital sitting upright in the back of the vehicle.

Umi's eyes opened briefly when she was in the ambulance. Her face was turned in the direction of the other victim, and she saw the lavender-haired man on the other be beside her. She murmured, "Master Mage…" She reached for his hand, but fell back unconsciousness.

Scott looked up at the sound of her voice, but she'd faded in and out too quickly for him to do anything about it. He only saw that now the two victims were holding hands. He shook his head in guilt, and immediately buried his face in his hands as the ambulance carried them back in the direction from whence they had just come.

-&-

Few, if any, people remember the trauma of their own birth after passing a certain age. The human mind has an infinite capacity to forget that which is violently unpleasant, such as birth. In older people, it manifests itself in strange ways such as the development of multiple-personality disorder in people who are attempting to cope with extreme trauma. Sometimes, however, we are forced to remember.

Had he the presence of mind to be thinking, he would have known birth felt like this. In a sense, he was being reborn into this world. He woke up screaming his pain, and was partially nude, almost like a real infant. He was alone in a world he did not understand. Bright lights assailed him where once he had been in darkness. People he didn't know looked at him in a predatory manner that scared and frightened.

_Happy birthday to you, dear boy. You are a blank slate._

It was the Universe's version of a joke, and he didn't find it all that funny.

The questions came to him then, hitting him like bullets to their target. Who are you? What's your name? Where do you come from? He simply didn't know the answers.

His leg had been broken? Oh, that was why he was in such pain. Thank you for mentioning it. And just where was he trying to walk on that dark road so late at night? Did he have anyone they could call? A wife or the next of kin, perhaps?

Yes, Mr. Doe, you should be fine in no time. This will pass soon. Sometimes this happens when people have severe head wounds.

_Fade, fade away, dear boy. Drift out to the ocean of forgetfulness because you have no anchor holding you here._

He closed his eyes and surrendered to Morpheus's pull.

-&-

"Shouldn't you be resting?" a worried voice challenged.

Umi smiled weakly at Joan. "I'm fine! It takes more than this to hurt me."

"You're not fine, Umi. We worried about you," she said, the sound of worry clear in her voice. "You were unconscious!"

"I hit my head, and I'll have a headache for a few days, but…" Umi shrugged and looked away. "I'm not worried about myself anyway. That man we hit broke his leg, and it's all our fault. If only we'd been looking."

Joan looked at Umi's left hand where the solitaire resided. "Scott proposed?"

"Yes," Umi said with a smile as she brought her fingers to her throat. "That's why we were so distracted. Scott was sharing his wedding plans."

"Congratulations, Umi," she said with a hug. "Is Scott checking out?"

She nodded. "He's offering to pay the medical expenses for that man. He doesn't have anything, Joan. He's all alone."

"He has a kind heart," she said in reference to Scott.

A few moments later Richard and Patricia Templeton found Umi and Joan in the hospital waiting room. Walking closely behind was Jessie. Umi was quickly surrounded by each of them offering hugs and words of affection.

"Are you ready to go home, Umi?" Richard said in a fatherly protective way.

"Yes, but… I don't want to leave him alone," she said, indicating the man they'd hit. "He doesn't have anyone."

"She's right," Scott said as he joined the group. "We can come back tomorrow and check on him if it will make you feel better."

"It would," she said as she stared with misted eyes at Scott. "I feel so responsible."

"Oh, Umi," her fiancé said as he held her close, "how do you think I feel? I was the one doing the driving!"

They embraced each other tightly before being led out of the hospital by their family and friends.

-&-

Umi could not rest the next day until she returned to see the progress of the man who was simply referred to as John Doe. He'd had no identification on him, and he could not answer questions about himself. The doctors had pronounced a case of amnesia. She was compelled to go see him because she had to know who they'd run over on the dark road.

She broke away from Scott and those that had accompanied her so she could visit him alone. When she entered the room, the lights were low, and the one thing that Umi would see was that his left leg was in a plaster cast. It wasn't broken before they'd met, and Umi sighed with guilt. If her thoughts hadn't been so distracted by memories of Cephiro perhaps she would have seen him sooner and thus avoided this accident.

The memory of a light shade of purple tugged at her, and she gasped when she saw him. It was Mage Clef! He didn't look like any way she'd ever seen him back in Cephiro, but it was definitely him.

The man had rich, thick hair and a face with a smooth complexion. While Clef in Cephiro had looked like a young boy, this person was definitely a man. The nurses had guessed him to be in his early to mid-thirties, but Umi could feel it in herself that it would be what Clef would look like had he allowed his physical body to mature.

_You know why he never grew up, don't you?_ taunted the inner voice that riddled her with guilt for all things in Cephiro. She had no regrets for fighting, that was true, but her one, last regret was always about Clef.

_He never wanted to be burdened by love like Princess Emeraude or Lord Zagato_, the voice continued. _He didn't want love. He didn't want _you_, Umi._

She shook her head and tried to block the negative thoughts that came to her. Instead she watched him. It was her Clef come back to her. Wasn't that really Umi's greatest inner wish? She _had_ blown out her birthday candles and made a wish after all.

She also noted that he was taller than the Clef she knew, but he was just as a normal grown man should be. He wasn't a giant, either. In fact, she guessed he was actually shorter than Scott, but he was still a full grown man.

Umi reached to put her fingers in his hair and a sigh escaped from her lips. _Oh, Clef,_ her heart cried. _If only it were so easy that this could really be you._

She continued to stroke his hair because it was a compulsion she could not stop. Some part of her was thankful he was sleeping and unaware of what she was doing._ His eyes are going to be blue when he opens them_, she thought to herself as she watched him. _Clef has blue eyes, so of course he'll have blue eyes._

She forced herself to remove her hand from his hair, but she stayed in the room watching him quietly. When time finally got longer than she dared, Umi turned to leave the room. As she walked quietly out, she didn't see that his eyes had opened to reveal a blue that she hadn't seen in years. Those blue eyes shrewdly watched her walk out and disappear on the other side of the door before they closed again in sleep.

-&-

Many days passed in which Umi visited, but he never acted as if he was awake. The Templeton family decided to visit him because Richard had an idea.

"We work with disabled children. We can help this man, and if he doesn't have anyone, we are his best option," he told the doctors.

"Are you saying you're going to try to rehabilitate him?" one of the physicians asked.

"If we can, yes," Richard insisted. Some of the children at the ranch were in wheel chairs, so it's not as if doing this would be something unusual.

"You should probably ask him first," a nurse advised. "He's awake now."

Richard, Patricia and Scott entered the room with two doctors and a nurse. All were gathered around the foot of the man's bed talking to him at once. It was confusing, and he wanted peace.

"Look," Richard said to cut through the din, "I'm offering to help you. We've already paid your medical bills, but this is a bit more."

"Thank you," the man said with a blank stare.

Scott looked like he was going to have a fit of hysterics. "I'm so sorry! We didn't see you. Honest!"

"Poor Umi got a head injury, too," Patricia said to him softly.

The girl in question had entered the room as the family and doctors were talking. She couldn't see him from behind the others' backs, but already the butterflies were dancing in her stomach. She moved to the right of the room, hiding behind one of the doctors. She looked to the man who could have been Clef out of the corner of her eyes, and gasped as she saw that his eyes were indeed blue. He intensely stared at her while the others were talking unaware of it.

The spell was broken when Scott noticed her. "Umi!" He pulled her near him and held her left hand in his.

"Were you hurt?" the other man asked her in a voice that sounded warm and familiar.

"N-n-not as bad as you," she said as she looked down at her shoes.

When Mr. Templeton offered again for him to come to the ranch for physical therapy, the man accepted on one condition. "Maybe there's a job that I can do to help pay my way. I don't know who I am, but I don't think I am one to take without giving."

"There is always something to be done," Scott said.

"And _you_ work there?" he asked with a nod toward Umi.

"Of course she does!" Scott said proudly. "She's wonderful, simply the best fiancée a man could ask for."

"Congratulations," he said tiredly as he leaned back into his pillows.

"Thank you," Umi said quietly, daring to look at him again.

The doctors said that he would have to stay in the hospital a few more days, but by the end of the week he should be ready to be transferred into their care. He would still have to come back periodically for psychological evaluations until his memory returned to him.

As John Doe was tired, he'd drifted into a fitful sleep while the others talked. The nurse then made everyone leave the room so he could get much needed rest.


	3. What's in a Name?

**CHAPTER 3:  
****What's in a Name?**

"Mister, are you awake?"

He blinked at the sound of the young girl's voice. Yes, he was awake. He turned his head in the direction of the sound and saw the hospital volunteer. How ironic that he'd actually gotten a candy striper named Candy. It was bound to happen sometime.

"I am now," he said in his hoarse voice.

"Good," the girl bounced. "I brought you some more books and magazines. You really tore through the other ones I brought you!"

"I didn't rip them," he said with a frown.

"No! I mean you read them super fast! Wow, I wish I could read my school assignments so fast. My friend Jennifer says…" And the girl babbled on.

He sighed and let her talk. The theory was that eventually the girl would need to take a breath some time. If she read as fast as she talked, she'd probably be at the head of her class.

As her monologue finally started to lose its steam, he heard Candy say, "Well, like I said, I brought you some more books and magazines, and I was supposed to give you a message." She wiggled uncomfortably as she said it.

"What's that?" he prompted. It was beyond his imagining that anyone here would want to leave a message for him.

"Someone's here to visit you!" she said, pointing her finger decisively. "It's that Japanese lady."

"Umi?"

"Yeah, whatever her name is," Candy said glibly. "Enjoy your books! Bye!"

Candy blissfully pushed her cart out of his room ready to spread joy to whomever was next. Behind her entered the woman in question, his visitor Umi.

She stood still, just staring at him for a while. In her hands she clutched a small colored cellophane bag with fruit inside it. He was surprised to see that she'd come alone without her entourage following her.

"Please, sit down," he invited as he indicated the chair to his right.

"I just came to give you a gift," Umi said, sounding nervous. "If you were sleeping, I can go."

"No, don't!" he said and held out his hand for her to stop.

She smiled unsurely at him. "These are for you. I hope they make you feel better."

"Thank you," he said graciously, not pointing out that the hospital had fed him. One could argue the quality of the food, but he _was_ being fed.

Umi sat down beside him and watched. She honestly wasn't sure what she wanted to say, but she did want to see him again alone and preferably while he was awake.

"Piece of fruit for your thoughts?" he asked as he gave her an orange from the bag.

She laughed. "Thank you."

He turned his blue eyes to watch her fumble with the fruit in her fingers. She didn't peel it, but she turned it over and over.

"If you're not going to say anything, maybe I should start," he said to Umi while waiting for her to look at him.

"Oh, okay," she said with a jittery smile. "What do you want to talk about?"

"Why were you here waiting in my room?" he asked. "I remember you were here once all alone. It was before Mr. Templeton offered for me to come to his ranch. You looked so sad."

Umi fumbled with her orange and almost dropped it because that information had startled her. "You _knew_ I was here?"

He nodded at her, dropping his eyelashes as he studied her.

"I wanted to see you to make sure you were all right," Umi finally answered. She was being honest, but that wasn't the whole truth of it. She had wanted to see if he was really Clef or if her mind was playing tricks on her.

"Feeling a bit guilty about running me over?" he sharply criticized.

"Yes, of course! But there's something else," she added in a confessional tone.

"What?" he asked, looking at the blue-haired angel that had come into his room.

"You remind me of someone I used to know," Umi admitted. "The resemblance is uncanny. He was shorter than you, but everything else is the same."

He tried to joke about it. "The doctors tell me I have amnesia, but somehow I think I'd remember if I'd met you before."

"So you _really_ don't know who you are?"

"No," he said as he looked away from her.

Umi put her hand up to his. "That has to be frightening."

He didn't answer her with words. He merely nodded his head once while still looking away.

"So tell me about this man who looks like me," the stranger asked after the silence had gone on too long.

She took a deep breath. There was really no reason why she shouldn't tell him, though she'd never really spoken about it to anyone else.

"I did some traveling when I was a teenager, and I'd met him when I left Japan. We didn't like each other very much at first," she said with an embarrassed smile, "but by the time I left his country, I was in love with him."

Umi breathed out a sigh. She finally said that out loud to someone who wasn't Hikaru or Fuu. Actually, they'd never talked about it, either, because the two girls knew both her feelings for the mage and her desire to keep that information private.

"Did he love you?" he asked simply.

"I… I don't know," Umi said sadly. "I never got a chance to tell him."

"So you ran me over so you could tell _me_, is that it?" the man deadpanned.

Umi didn't realize he was joking at first, and denied it. "No! Of course I wouldn't do that!"

He laughed at her upset reaction. "Relax. Just what did this man do anyway?"

Umi looked away from him. Certainly she knew what the Master Mage did, but magic of that sort just wasn't done on Earth. Being a liar wasn't in her nature, so she modified her answer to more earthly terms. "He was a magician."

"A magician, eh?" he asked thoughtfully. He reached over to take the piece of fruit from Umi's hand and juggled it with his own pieces. "I like it."

He continued to juggle while Umi watched in fascination. Her Clef hadn't done that, but it was still interesting. Juggling wasn't even remotely close to magic, but he seemed entertained as he did it. A smile that made Umi's heart lurch appeared on his face as she watched him.

Interrupting them was the nurse, who entered and asked, "Mr. Doe, how are you feeling?"

"About as good as can be expected," he said with a bark of a laugh. After he took a winking look at Umi, he added "I think I'd like to change my name, though."

"Do you remember who you are? Can we contact your family?" the nurse asked with a hopeful expression that was mirrored on Umi's face.

"No, but I've had an interesting chat with my guest. I should like to be called… Harry," he declared.

"Harry?" Umi asked in consternation.

"Yes," the new Harry said. "You mentioned your magician. Who is better than Houdini? Or if you prefer," he said as he handed her a book that had been put on his bedside, "there is the young Mr. Potter."

"You're going to call yourself Harry Potter?" the nurse said with a laugh.

He smiled enigmatically. "No. Until I find out who I really am, you can call me Harry Eric White. I think that fits."

"Harry White," the nurse said as she manipulated the name in her mouth. "It's as good a name as any other, I suppose."

"And it has a lot more personality than John Doe," Harry said.

While he and the nurse talked, Umi got up and made to leave, but he stopped her by reaching for her wrist.

"Thank you for coming to visit."

"Oh, you're welcome, but I really should be going. Harry," Umi added.

He wasn't Harry; he was Clef! If he wasn't that, he was the best doppelganger she'd ever had the pleasure of meeting.

Reluctantly he let go of her and gave his attention back to the nurse who continued to speak.

"You'll be going home with her soon, Harry," the woman said with a chuckle at his new chosen name. "The doctor feels fit to release you to the Templetons tomorrow."

"That's good news," Umi said in a breathy tone. "Well, I'll see you tomorrow!"

He barely had time to wish her goodbye as she rushed out of his room.

-&-

Harry couldn't sleep well that night. The few times when he did, his dreams were riddled with images of blue-haired Japanese women. It was one woman, actually—one very engaged woman who he didn't know anything about except that her fleeting smile was enchanting.

_If this is the kind of man I am_, he thought to himself about his immediate fascination with the other man's betrothed, _I'm not going to like myself very much._

He might not know _who_ he was, but he had a sense of his own inner character. He felt that he was honorable and would not do such a thing as covet that which was not his. Staying at the Templeton Ranch where he would have more access to Umi Ryuuzaki would be a definite test of that self-assertion.

When the morning came he was given the once-over by doctors and nurses. Physically, his ailments were in his leg and his head, but both were on the way to healing. Mentally, he still didn't know who he was, and he needed to keep his regular appointments in case his memory returned.

The nurses and orderlies had been very helpful in getting him ready to leave. He was placed in a wheelchair while his meager belongings were gathered. He was making idle talk with his nurse when Scott bounded in like a great Labrador retriever ready to play.

"Mr. Templeton! It seems our Mr. White is ready to go," the woman said with a smile.

Scott frowned at first hearing the strange name and then looked to Harry. "Your memory has returned? Why wasn't I told sooner?"

"No. It's a joke," the other man explained. "I was having a discussion, and came up with this name. You can call me Harry"

"Harry?" Scott said again in a surprised tone.

"Like Houdini, Mr. Templeton," he supplied. "His real name was Ehrich Weiss, so I just changed it a little."

"Oh," Scott replied, wrinkling his nose. "What made you think of that?"

"It was actually your fiancée that made me think of it. Is U… I mean, is Miss Ryuuzaki here?" he asked, trying to appear nonchalant.

"No, she stayed back at the ranch to bake you a cake! She likes doing that. If I didn't work outside, I'd probably be a fat man by now," the brown-haired man said as he patted his belly.

"What do you _do_ at the ranch? You said you could help me, but I still don't quite understand," Harry asked as they went to the ranch's van.

"Basically, it's a private boarding school for kids at need," Scott explained. "Some of them have physical handicaps, and others… are a little bit harder to reach."

"Are you a teacher?" was the next logical question.

"No, and Umi isn't either, in case you're wondering. I'm going to be a veterinarian. In fact, I'm currently taking university courses part time. I help take care of the animals there. It's one of the things that we think helps the children."

"It sounds nice," the older man said quietly. "So what does your girlfriend do when she's not baking cakes?"

Scott breathed in loudly while trying to think of what Umi did. "She's not a teacher, but she helps the teachers and my mother in the office. She gets things ready, and she also helps direct some of the fun activities."

"Oh," Harry said with a nod, "she's a glorified secretary."

Scott laughed. "Yes, I guess you could say that. And here we are," he said motioning to the van.

Before the orderly could assist Harry in getting inside the vehicle, the man stopped and looked at the young man. "Are _you_ going to drive?"

"Yes," Scott said, for the first time unsure of himself. "Does that make you nervous?"

"Would you prefer that I lie and tell you 'no'?" he asked, fixing his blue-eyed gaze steadily on him.

"Uh, no…" the younger man fidgeted.

"Then I'll not say anything at all," he concluded and nodded for the orderly to help him up inside the vehicle.

Scott got in the driver's side and buckled his seatbelt. He took a deep breath before starting the ignition and driving the vehicle away from the hospital.


	4. Something Fishy

**CHAPTER 4:  
****Something Fishy**

The drive back to the Templeton Ranch took about an hour, and Scott mentioned that it was the normal travel time back and forth to the city. On the way out of town, the scenery changed to accommodate more trees and small hills for hiking. It had an almost serene feeling about it, and Harry could see the appeal of putting a home or private school there.

When they arrived safely, Harry was assisted into a wheelchair by Steve, and the two went into the main building to find his room. Meanwhile, Scott went off to report to his parents.

"We were thinking you'd like it better in here," Steve explained while he pushed the chair. "Besides, you're closer to the kitchens and entertainment this way."

"What kind of entertainment do you have here?" he asked.

The other man chuckled. "I was meaning entertainment of the more spontaneous variety. After all, this is the central hub of activity indoors. You get the ring-side view of food fights, teenage angst, arguments, and any number of small dramas. It's like reality TV without the television."

Steve screwed up his face comically as if in painful thought. "I think it's called… _reality_."

"How exciting," Harry said in quiet sarcasm. "I've heard too much reality can kill a man. Maybe I'd do better in a quiet, out of the way place."

"We can do that, too," answered Steve as he entered the room that had been chosen for him.

The room was in an isolated hall just off the kitchens and dining room. The furnishings were sparse with a bed, wooden chair, night table with lamp and an armoire for his clothing, not that he really had any, and a bookshelf for any personal items. It was a simple place in a very Scandinavian style with glowing wood that gave it a warm, likable tone.

"So, we'll be getting to know each other rather well because I get to put you through your paces."

Harry had been staring out the small window of his room and then fixed his gaze on Steve. "So you're going to treat me like a racehorse?"

Seeing the horses out the window in the far distance, Steve laughed. "Smart one, are you? Well, if you can get your leg muscles up to snuff as fast as you can your mouth, you will be fine in no time."

"Thanks," he said with a smile. He had a feeling he was going to like Steve.

"Look, one of the things I do with the older kids is weight lifting. It helps improve their self-esteem and body image. Male bonding type stuff," he added with a grunting sound reminiscent of Tim "the Tool-Man" Taylor. "You'll need the upper body strength anyway, so you getting out with the kids might kill two birds with one stone."

"And those two birds would be…?"

"_You_ get strengthened, and _they_ get a positive role model. They could have someone to look to for inspiration." With mock tears, Steve said, "It chokes me up to think about it."

Harry shook his head at Steve and laughed.

"So," he continued with a loud hand clap, "all this discussion has made me hungry. Let's go have lunch and meet the rest of the people. From the rumor I heard, Umi made you a cake."

"Scott mentioned that," he said with an expression that was a cross between interested curiosity and worry. "Is that a good thing?"

"Most of the time it is. She can cook a mean cake, but otherwise the girl is hopeless in the kitchen."

The two men made to leave to the dining room, but they went at a slow pace because one was using crutches and the other was standing guard to make sure he didn't topple over.

-&-

Harry got settled at a table with Steve, and Scott and his parents came over to join them. He cast his eyes around the room to find his blue-eyed angel and noticed that she was not there. Umi might have been in the kitchens with the purported cake, but he couldn't help feeling disappointment because he'd really wanted to see her. He quickly squashed that down when he looked over to Scott's smiling face. From what he could tell, he was a nice guy.

Patricia Templeton sat by Harry and made pleasant conversation, telling him about the ranch as a whole and her work there as the students' guidance counselor. After they'd eaten most of their lunch, she said, "I have something for you, dear."

She reached into her handbag and pulled out a black, leather-bound book and a fancy fountain pen. She slid the items beside him, while wearing an expression similar to the cat that swallowed the canary.

Without speaking, he took the book and thumbed through it, noticing the blank lines on each page. "There's nothing in it," he said.

"It's like you," she said in a motherly tone. "You might not be sure of your identity, but this can help. Write down any dreams you have to see if there's a pattern. Even the small things that don't make any sense to you now might start forming a pattern when you look at them from a different view. Write down thoughts, impressions, feelings, opinions—whatever you need. Sometimes an identity is only a name, but a man's character? That is a unique thing!"

"It's a diary," he said, not sure he liked the idea of doing something that was perceived as being so juvenile.

Patricia humorously put her hand on his forehead. "Nope, you're not a girl from what I can tell. So, you don't have to call it a diary if that's too girly for you. Even the great explorers kept journals of their travels. In this case, the uncharted territory is your own self."

"Thank you," he answered, sorry that he'd not been too impressed with the present before she explained its purpose.

"You might discover you're a poet," Richard said from his side of the table.

"Or that I'm illiterate," Harry said as he frowned into the blank pages.

"I doubt that," Patricia said, putting her hand lightly on his shoulder.

He turned his upper body so he could better look at her. "Do you have other children besides Scott?"

"Tons!" she replied with a twinkle in her eyes, "but Scott is the only one I delivered."

"I'm an only child," Scott interjected, but Harry wasn't concentrating on him.

"You're a very kind woman, Mrs. Templeton, very mothering. I have a feeling I don't have a mother like that, or that maybe she's dead or somehow unreachable," he said while still looking only at her.

She nodded and smiled at him encouragingly. "Good, good! Write that down in your journal. It's your first impression. Maybe someday, hopefully soon, we'll know if your hunch was right."

Patricia uncapped the pen and held it out temptingly. Harry took it and wrote quickly on the first page of the journal the fleeting impression of his mother that he'd just had. When he was satisfied as being done for the moment, he nodded and said aloud, "I guess I'm not illiterate after all."

"I think it should be time for dessert," Steve finally spoke to the group at large.

"Ah, yes," Harry responded with interest, "I heard some particular gossip when I came here. There were allegations about a cake being made by Miss Ryuuzaki, but from the emptiness of the dessert plates, that information has not been confirmed."

"Let's fix that," Scott said, leaning in with an impish gleam in his eyes. "Umi! We're ready for you!"

The young woman who had been missing most of the morning made her appearance slowly walking out from the kitchens toward them with a round bundt cake held high by both hands. The cake had sugar and spices on it, but no traditional frosting. It was festive enough, though, that it could have been a birthday cake.

Umi came near the table and placed the confection in front of him with a knife and fork for cutting. It was then when she was so near that he noticed she was still wearing her cooking apron and was otherwise a mess. Flour was over her face and clothing, and her hair was in disarray. To Harry, Umi looked simply adorable.

With the cutting knife in hand, Harry made slices for his four table companions. He was about to make a fifth for Umi, but she declined.

"You know, we shouldn't trust a cook, or in your case, a baker, who won't sample her own food!" he joked in hopes that she'd be willing to sit down with them.

"Help yourself. I'll come right back. I just have to get something from the kitchen," she said as she retreated.

He portioned his piece with a disappointed sigh and sat down to eat. When he tasted the cake, the wait was worth it. It was just the right amount of sweetness without being too overly sweet. When the others at the table quickly ate their pieces, he saw evidence of their opinions being the same as his.

He didn't have long to wonder about Umi's absence. The relative peace at the table was disturbed by an angry woman's voice shouting, "Give me that!"

After that was the unmistakable sound of a child's taunting musical call. The child, about nine years old, he guessed, ran into the dining room with Umi close on his heels. Before he could run in circles around the many tables, she snatched a small glass bowl with a multi-colored fish out of his hands.

Umi glared daggers at the boy who'd taken the fish away from her, and only when she looked over to the table with the Harry, Steve and the Templetons did her expression change. She tried to calm herself and walk back to them in a dignified manner.

"This is for you," she said breathlessly as she handed Harry the jar with the fish.

The fish was light lavender and dark purple. It had big, beautiful fins and looked perfectly happy swimming in its bowl despite being the object of a recent chase. The flat, shimmering rocks at the bottom of the container seemed only to emphasize how beautiful the fish was.

"Betta splendens," Scott whistled appreciatively. "It's a step-up from a mere goldfish."

After staring at it a while, blue eyes looked to blue. "Thank you, Umi."

The smile that lighted her eyes left him feeling breathless.

"I thought he'd brighten up your room since there's not much else there right now," Umi explained.

"You should name him," Steve suggested.

"I've never named a fish. At least I don't _think_ I have!" Harry laughed as he looked at his new pet again.

Umi's lips pressed together in a line before she suggested. "How about naming him Fyula?"

He looked at her through the fringe of his hair, mouthing the name Fyula. After a bit of contemplation, he nodded. "I like it."

"I thought you would," Umi said as she eyed him and nibbled on the tip of her finger.

"Is that a Japanese name?" he asked her politely as he placed the fishbowl near him on the table.

She shook her head from side to side. "No, it's not Japanese. A friend of mine," she explained with a significant look to Harry only, "used to have a fish named Fyula."

"I'll treasure him. Thank you," he said again, offering a shy smile of his own.

"Excuse me," Steve said as he stood up. "I am off to the kitchen to get the coffee pot. You sit down, Umi. I'll be right back," he said to everyone else.

The light conversation at the table went on while Steve left to get his fix of after lunch coffee.

-&-

After he'd prepared a cup for himself, Steve savored a drink alone in the kitchen. Before he could leave and bring the pot to the others in the dining room, he was stopped by a very excited Jessie.

"Are you doing _his_ physical therapy?" she asked as she stared around the corner at the newcomer Harry.

"Sure am," he answered while studying her.

"He's so pretty," she sighed dreamily while looking at the lavender-haired man.

"Yeah, he is," Steve admitted. "Didn't you see him in the hospital?"

"No," she said with wide eyes. "I went to see Umi and Scott once, but I didn't see him."

They both watched the man in question until Jessie asked playfully, "Do you need any help in his rehabilitation? Maybe I could help him with his lips."

Steve sighed at her. He knew what was coming next, and it was best to just let her speak and get it out of the way.

"He looks like he seriously needs to be kissed! In fact, it's just perfect," she squealed with glee. "He broke his leg, so he can't run away!"

"Ha, ha, Jessie," he said in a flat voice.

"Well, if he had a girlfriend or a boyfriend," she said with a slight shrug, "it's not like he'd remember it right now. I'll just have to give him some new memorable moments."

"Yeah, he's easy on the eyes," Steve said after a moment of assessing Harry. "And don't look at me like that, Jessie. I'm comfortable enough in my own manhood to say it, thank you very much. Are you really going to try to get with that one?"

"Why not?" she asked rhetorically. "With all this Umi and Scott love going around, it kind of makes a person feel lonely in comparison, you know?"

"So… what? He makes your thighs tremble with anticipation?" They'd been close enough friends that Steve knew he could tease her this way.

"It's a little higher than my thighs, actually," she said huskily while looking longingly at the other man.

Steve put his arm around Jessie to give her a hug of encouragement. "Come on, killer. Let's go meet Mr. Blue Eyes."


	5. Say Cheese!

**CHAPTER 5:  
****Say Cheese!**

"Coffee?" Jessie asked everyone in the sweetest voice imaginable.

Behind her Steve made a weary expression at her tactics. She was definitely trying to put on the charm. The little hip sway she added as she walked closer to the table with the pot could have come right out of one of the old Mae West movies.

As she poured for her friends and coworkers, she made sure to generally get in Harry's way by having her arms around or near him. She bumped into him lightly once, to which she apologized.

After coffee was served, Jessie asked, "Is anyone going to introduce me? I don't even know our new guest's name."

"He doesn't either," Scott supplied before the other man could introduce himself as "Harry."

"So it's John Doe then?" she asked with an exaggerated smile and look to him.

"Bond," Harry replied, straight-faced. "James Bond."

Jessie's eyebrow shot up. "Oh? Do you have all Mr. Bond's skills?"

"Only a few, but right now I'm undercover," he said and then raised his finger to his lips to indicate secrecy. "While I'm here, you can call me Harry."

"_Very _pleased to meet you," she said leaning over to offer her hand. "My name's Jessica Walter. My friends call me Jessie, and I do hope we can become close friends."

He took her hand and replied with a smile of his own.

From behind his coffee cup, Steve muttered, "And the fly has just stepped into the spider's web."

"What was that?" Umi asked with a laugh because she wasn't sure she heard correctly.

"Nothing important," Steve said as he looked at Umi and Scott sitting together.

They'd been holding hands at the table. While they had not been trying to draw attention to themselves, he had sympathy for what Jessie had said about too much Umi and Scott love making everything else seem dull in comparison.

"When's your big day?" he asked the couple.

"June!" Scott immediately chorused. "I know it's only three months away, but I think Umi would make a beautiful June bride."

"Scott," Richard lightly chastised his son, "the woman you love would make a beautiful bride any time of year."

"Hear! Hear!" Scott agreed with a salute of the coffee cup before placing a kiss on Umi's blushing cheek.

"If your friends Hikaru and Fuu come from Japan for the wedding, Joan will be in an absolute tizzy," Patricia said.

"Hikaru? Fuu?" Harry asked an expression of deepest thought. "Fuu… Fuu… Puu?" He looked to Umi for help.

Her mouth was agape, but she closed it quickly. Swallowing heavily, she answered, "Those were my friends that went traveling with me when I was younger."

"Speaking of traveling, it is time to leave lunch," Richard said as he stood up from the table. "I do hope you will enjoy your stay with us, Harry."

"Thank you," he said politely.

He looked at the gifts that were around him on the table, and back in his room were pieces of the fruit Umi had brought him yesterday. It seemed from all he could tell so far that these people were kind and really did want to help.

"I need to bring these back to my room," he said to the others.

"I can help you!" Umi volunteered promptly. She reached for Fyula so quickly that it was as if she was protecting the poor fish from the little boy how'd stolen it from her before.

"I'll take your book," Jessie said with true altruistic intentions as opposed to the flirting she had done when she brought the coffee.

The group of four walked slowly back to Harry's new room while the Templetons went their separate ways for afternoon work.

Having safely deposited Harry in his room, Umi left. With Jessie and Steve visiting, she didn't want to overwhelm him. She didn't want to overwhelm herself, either.

What was that with him saying "Puu"? There was only one creature _she_ knew who only said puu, and it was Mokona. Perhaps he'd had a memory of his former self.

_And what if he really is Clef? What then?_ Umi had to ask herself. She'd told Harry that she'd been in love with Clef. If he was really the Master Mage as she thought, he would know. It might not change anything between them at all. She also had Scott to consider.

Umi put her head in her hands because the thoughts that came to her were too confusing.

"What's wrong, Umi?" asked Joan as she stopped by Umi's small office.

"I have a headache," she replied truthfully. All the thinking of what might or might not be happening surely was a source of a headache.

"Would you like some aspirin?" she asked with concern.

"No. Thank you," she added with a smile. "There is something you can do for me, though, if you have time," Umi said as an idea came to her.

"I have a few minutes before my next class," Joan replied.

"Would you please go take a picture of Harry?" Umi handed Joan a digital camera and explained, "Maybe if we put his picture up somewhere, someone might be able to identify him."

"Who's Harry?" the woman asked as she wrinkled her nose.

"That's the man from the hospital. He doesn't know who he is," _even though I do_, "but he said he wants to be called Harry."

She gave a satisfied nod as she played with the camera. "Fun! I'll go right now. Have you spoken with him? What kind of person is he?"

_Powerful. Clef. Mine_, she mentally sighed. Shaking her head as if to clear it, Umi said aloud, "He's polite."

Joan shrugged as if it wasn't bad but also not the most interesting way to be. "I'll bring you this back later."

"Thank you, Joan."

"Absolutely!" the woman said as she left with a photographic mission.

* * *

Back in his room, Harry sat at the edge of his bed juggling pieces of fruit again. Because he was so successful at doing it, he felt like the repetitive motion put him into a trance. He made a mental note to ask Steve to give him something to juggle besides fruit.

A knock at the door didn't break his concentration. Without losing the rhythm of his passes, he called out, "Come!"

A tall woman with short, curly dark brown hair entered. "Oh!" she gasped as she watched him throw the pieces of fruit. "You're good at that."

"Thank you," he said tossing the pieces a few more times before stopping.

"I'm Joan Carter," she said as she held out her hand for him to shake. "Umi sent me to take your photograph."

"Nice to meet you, Joan. I think I heard your name already, but I'm not sure," he said with an apologetic look.

"That's okay. I was at the hospital a few times with Umi, but this is my first time to meet you, too."

"Why do you need my photograph?" He wasn't afraid to have his picture taken, but the fact that Umi had asked for it made him wonder.

"Umi had the idea that we could use it to put up with missing persons information. Maybe there's someone out there who knows who you are," she said.

"That's entirely logical, but why didn't Umi come herself?" he asked in a tone he hoped wouldn't offend Joan.

"Headache," she said simply, gesturing to her own head. "Well, sit up straight and let me get a few head shots."

He did and sat politely through a few takes with the camera. As Joan played with it, he decided to be silly and started making a few random faces. She laughed from behind the lens.

"So you're not shy. Why don't you juggle again so I can get a few of those, too," she suggested.

He obliged and started making the fruit dance in the air. The look on his face as he did it was pure delight, and Joan took several pictures from a variety of angles.

"You're a natural showman," she observed. "Where did you learn that?"

"I don't really know," he said with a chuckle and a conspiratory look. "I have amnesia," he winked.

"Well, at least you're a man in good spirits," she laughed back.

"Oh, I save my fear and monsters for the times when I'm alone," he answered flippantly.

"I have an idea. Do you think you know any other tricks?" Seeing his shoulder shrug, she continued, "I could get some books on magic tricks for you from the library. The kids would _love_ that. We try to keep a positive atmosphere here, but that could be a real treat."

"Sure. I'm willing to learn," he said with a smile of approval. "It sounds like fun, actually."

"Do you have any other interests? Oh, silly question, right? You don't know yet," Joan said with a wink.

"That about sums it up for now."

"I rather like movies, especially foreign films. In a few weeks the art house in the city will be showing _The Returner_ in Japanese. I've been wanting to see that one for a while," she said with a happy light in her eyes. "If you're still here with us, you're most welcome to come."

"I think I'd like that. Are the movies subtitled?" he inquired.

"Yes. We've managed to get a few prints of better foreign films with subtitles in English. I'm rather proud of it. We've seen films from France, China, Germany, and I even remember one from Finland. I always get a special treat from the Japanese ones, though."

He nodded in understanding. "Have you ever been to Japan?"

"Yes, a few times, but only for short visits. I'd like to go back there sometime and stay longer," she said wistfully. "Maybe I'll take a sabbatical from here and go teach with the Department of Defense Schools for a while. The only problem with that plan is that I like it here and wouldn't want to leave forever."

"Where there is a strong will and a true desire," he said sagely, "one finds a way to make even the impossible happen."

"That's true!" Joan answered him with a big smile. After checking the time, she excused herself so she could go teach her next scheduled class.

* * *

Umi was late in her office finishing the work that she'd missed earlier in the morning when she'd been baking the cake. She took a stack of files to the cabinet to put away when suddenly a pair of hands covered her eyes. Turning around, she saw that it was Scott smiling down lovingly at her.

"Had a good day?" he asked sweetly as he stroked the hair at her temple. Though she'd tried to fix it, her hair was still in pleasant disarray as it had been after she'd baked the cake.

"Yes," she said with a tired smile.

He pulled her close and gave her a kiss on the lips. When she'd put her arms around his neck to kiss him again, they both heard a throat clearing.

"I'm sorry to interrupt you two, but I'm just dropping off the camera," Joan said as she placed it on Umi's desk.

"Did you get the photos?" Umi asked with interest.

"Quite a few. That man's got presence. I told him I'd go get him some books on tricks. Maybe he can put on a show for us," she said with a shrug and smile.

"Are you talking about Harry?" Scott asked in surprise.

"Yes! Take a look at a few of these shots," Joan said as she turned on the digital camera.

She showed them the obligatory head shots, but when she got to the poses of him juggling, she stopped on one frame. In the photo, Harry was looking slightly over his shoulder so that the lilac tresses were falling into his sapphire blue eyes on one side of his face. The twinkle in his other blue eye and smug smile suggested he knew something covert. One hand was higher than the other in the act of throwing the fruit, but at the moment the photo was taken, all pieces were in the air.

"Wow," Umi said, feeling like she'd lost her breath.

"Nice photograph, Joan!" Scott said. "Is that another one of your secret hobbies?"

While Joan and Scott discussed the photographs, Umi deftly retrieved the camera from her and saved the pictures from the camera to the hard drive of her computer. When the other two continued to talk without wanting her immediate attention, she sent out an email to the attention of Hikaru Shidou.

_Hikaru, _

_Take a look at the photograph and tell me who you think that is._

_-Umi_

She attached the photograph to the email, and turned off the computer quickly after it was sent. "Shall we go?" she quickly asked the other two who were still talking.

* * *

**A/N**: The cover image used for this story is a fan artist's rendering of the headshot I describe in this chapter. I was so astounded to get it out of the blue. My many thanks to KD wherever you are!


	6. Walk Softly

**CHAPTER 6:  
****Walk Softly…**

_Strange dream this morning. All I remember was hearing "Puu!" Over and over again. "Puu! Puu!" I guess it was supposed to mean something, but whatever it was, I can't tell. Plus, now I have a craving for marshmallows. As far as I know, I don't even like marshmallows._

Harry put down his pen, satisfied with his dream entry into the journal. Patricia was right that he had only bits and pieces. If it was part of some grand whole, he wasn't seeing the entire picture just yet. Maybe he had to give himself time. He'd only been writing in it a week, and that made almost three weeks since the accident.

Why _had_ he been walking that road at night? There wasn't much out there but the ranch itself. Was he an escaped mental patient? Now that was a scary thought. He shoved those away quickly and started on his more productive morning stretches.

As he stretched and heard popping noises, he wondered how old he was. The people at the hospital had a guess but no real answer for him. To Harry, all he really knew was the date he'd been hit by the car. That would make his birthday, or at least his current awareness of his self, March third—just like Umi.

He hobbled to his window and looked outside. The morning sky was blue and inviting. He decided in his heart that outside was where he really wanted to be. The problem with his plan would be in actually getting there.

Because of already having students in wheelchairs and motorized scooters, there were several smooth nature paths on the ranch grounds. If he escaped now, he could avoid the counseling session with Patricia. He liked the woman and found her helpful, but it was the draw of the blue sky that was influencing him right now.

He packed a book in the travel pouch on his chair. Then he stuck his head out the door of his room to make sure no one was coming. There were noises from farther down the hallway, but the coast was clear.

He sat in the chair and pushed the wheels as hard as he could to get outside. He'd made it almost out of the building when Jessie found him.

"Hi, Harry. What are you doing?"

He winced because he didn't really want to tell her in case she tried to make him go back to Patricia. "I'm running away," he admitted.

She put her hand on one hip and assessed his situation. "Where are you going?"

"Outside. Anywhere but stuck inside my room or someone else's office," he said with a sour look on his face.

She bent down low, putting her face level with his. "Do you want me to help?"

Harry looked at her suspiciously and then asked in a mock mafia boss voice, "You turnin' me into the Feds?"

She laughed and took hold of his chair from behind. "I have a class to teach next period, but I can sneak you past the guards," she said jokingly.

Harry thanked his lucky starts he'd found Jessie. Though he hadn't pushed the wheels too much, it was very tiring. Steve had definitely been right that he should be building his upper-body strength.

Jessie pushed him down the ramp and on a path that went behind the building, well out of sight of Patricia or others unless they were on the grounds. "Do you want to go to the gazebo?" she asked.

"No," he said, though he thought the place lovely. For some reason, he felt the need to be near the water. "I'd like to go to sit by the stream."

"Your wish is my command, though I'd be remiss if I didn't point something out," she said as she walked. "You can't stay out there all morning, and how do you expect to get back when you're done doing whatever your doing?"

"Well, you'll come and get me, of course," he said sweetly, batting his eyelashes at her in a flirtatious way.

She laughed at his manner, but inwardly she knew she'd look for him at lunch when she had free time again. When they'd gotten to the water, she parked the chair under the shade of a tree and then set the brakes so he wouldn't unwillingly roll away.

"Thank you, Jessica," he said to her after letting out a sigh of satisfaction.

The look of pleasure on his face as he closed his eyes was enough to silence what words might have come out. Instead, she took another look at him to fix it into her memory, and then she went back to the school to teach her next class.

Umi stood by her office window scowling at the blue sky outside. In truth, it was a lovely day. It was a day like Cephiro had in the best of times. While Cephiro was never far from her heart—no experience so strong as that could ever allow itself to be anywhere else—everything since she'd met Harry seemed to take on some character of Cephiro. It was maddening and distracting to no end.

_And why hasn't Hikaru answered my email?_ she angrily wondered.

There were only two people who would take her confidences, and Fuu, she knew for a fact, was unavailable. She'd told Umi as much after her birthday phone call. Shidou Hikaru had no such excuse, and Umi was going to take things into her own hands, and the time zone difference didn't matter any more. Umi was going to get what she wanted.

She took her cell phone out of her purse and used the speed dial. It would be about midnight in Japan. She just hoped her red haired friend was safe first. She could yell at her later for not answering her mails once she knew she was fine.

She let the phone ring and ring. When it turned over to voice mail, she tried again. Umi had almost lost hope that Hikaru would answer when she heard a tired voice on the other end.

"Hikaru! Where have you been!" demanded the former Water Knight.

"In my bed asleep," she said, clearly not quite awake yet to talk to Umi.

"How come you didn't answer your phone right away?" she asked forcefully.

Hikaru sat up, coming awake by degrees. "Hikari moved it."

"Likely story," Umi muttered. "Did you get my email?"

"Probably, but…" She shrugged in the darkness. "I just haven't had time to check it lately. We've been too busy training new students."

It was true that Hikaru was busy with the running of her family Kendo dojo. Umi tried to be patient. She reminded herself that the world didn't really revolve around her, even if she felt this was urgently important.

That thought failed, however, when she realized she'd already gone ahead and made the phone call. She should at least find out what Hikaru knew. Maybe she had some latent power of the Pillar still left in her, and maybe she'd summoned Clef to earth. That would be no stranger than Princess Emeraude summoning herself, Fuu and Hikaru to Cephiro that first time.

"Hikaru, listen. I think Clef is here. On earth. With me," Umi said, clutching the phone as she spoke.

The seriousness of her words made any sleepiness that Hikaru had fall away from her immediately.

"What do you mean? How can this be?" she asked with a stunned voice.

Umi's own voice rose in pitch as she answered, "That's why I called you! I sent you his picture by email, Hikaru. I need you to look and see."

The redhead scrambled to the computer that was in the office and turned it on. She was so intent on getting to her email, she didn't even ask any questions. Umi did, though.

"Did you bring him here?"

"How could I?" she asked in shock.

"You had the will to be Pillar. How else could he get here?" Umi asked.

Hikaru was almost afraid to look at the email and attached photo. "Are you _sure_ it's him?"

"Please, just look at the picture, and you'll see for yourself," she said in a pleading tone. After the sound of silence went on too long at the other end of the phone, Umi asked, "Hikaru?"

"I'm here," the former Fire Knight replied with a shocked sound in her voice. "That's not him, but yet… it is. I can't believe it."

Umi nodded though Hikaru could not see or hear it. "I _know_. I wanted someone else to see it so I could prove I wasn't losing my mind."

"Does he act like Clef?" Hikaru asked after looking at the picture again.

Umi hummed as she thought. "He does, but he doesn't. I told him that Clef was a magician, so now he has been learning magic tricks to entertain the children. It's not real magic, of course, and he probably did it as a way to tease me."

"You and Clef did not start off on the best of terms in Cephiro, Umi, so if he is trying to tease you, that wouldn't be too strange for him," Hikaru commented in a bewildered tone while trying to make some sense of it all.

Umi sighed. "Hikaru, I just don't want to believe it's him if it's not. Maybe my mind is playing tricks on me. I didn't think I was so lonely for him that I would start seeing things. I have Scott, and I love him. But… Well, you know how the shadows of our hearts can sometimes come to life."

"I do," Hikaru said, remembering Nova.

"And you didn't bring him here?" Umi asked again.

"No, Umi. I don't have the power of the Pillar here, and you know that," Hikaru answered sadly.

"I'm sorry I woke you," Umi said woefully as she ended the phone call.

On the other side of the world, Hikaru touched the screen where the photograph flashed in front of her. If he was not merely a look-alike and he was actually Clef, then what did that mean for Cephiro? Was the world all the Knights had loved in danger once more?

Hikaru didn't know the answers, and her sleep, when she tried again, was troubled with the possibilities of what this man's appearance could mean.

Under the tree, Harry was feeling restless. Yes, he'd made his brilliant escape, but now what? He took out his book and started flipping through the pages. Joan had managed to get him a few books from the library on magic tricks. She even found one for him at a second-hand shop. That was the one he'd brought outside with him, he realized, and he immediately regretted it.

The book was old and not that well made. The sheets of paper were loose in the binding and fell out of the book, some floating on the wind into the water. There they stopped and waited invitingly, as if teasing or daring him to come retrieve them.

He was stubborn enough that the pieces of paper weren't going to get the better of him. Growling in frustration, Harry eased himself out of the chair. He was still a bit wobbly when he walked, so he'd have to try to get there by inching down to the bank on his butt. He almost made it safely to the water's edge when he hit a slick spot and went tumbling down without control into the water.

He landed on his arm, and rolled over to shout curses and epithets into the bright blue sky. He angrily snatched the pages around him and wondered how he was going to get out of this one. There was no way he'd wait until whatever time Jessie came back. If he did, what would he tell her? _Oh, yes, Jessie. I just decided to take a swim in the ice-cold water. No problems. No problems at all_.

Just when he was about to get really angry about his circumstances, he heard a teenager's mocking voice. "Looks like the cracker got dunked in the water."

"Who are you?" Harry called out with a scowl in his face. He still couldn't see the boy.

Stepping into his line of vision, Harry saw a short, skinny black boy with braids. He looked perfectly healthy, so he wondered if the kid was one of those with non-physical handicaps.

"Derrick Johnson," he said, standing like one of the rap singers from the glossy magazines. "If you tell anyone I was here, I'll have to put a cap in yo' a…"

"I get the picture," he interrupted. "You get me out of here, and we'll work up a deal."

Derrick made to walk away. "I don't owe you anything."

Harry was so angry at being in his predicament that he took a small rock from beside him and threw it at the boy. When he hit him squarely on the shoulder, Derrick turned around and snarled at him.

"What'd you do that for?"

"I need to get out of here," he said staring at him right back. "Are you too much of a little weakling to do that?"

Derrick had always been the runt of the group, so that got him where it hurt. "I ain't too weak for nothin'!" he said as he made his way down to the bank.

"Stop!" Harry shouted before he could hit the same slick spot that he'd found. "Get a long branch or something before we both end up on our as…" he looked at the kid, remembering he was in a school-like environment, "in the water."

"You're going to pay for getting my shoes cleaned," Derrick complained as he searched for a suitable branch.

He had to run down the bank several meters until he found one that looked long and strong enough. It was knotted and gnarly, but about six feet long and seemed strong. He went back down to the rocks and got close to Harry to help him stand.

He gripped tightly on the pole to get in standing position, and then he leaned heavily on Derrick's shoulder as they walked. Together the two made it up the bank to the chair sitting peacefully under the tree as if nothing had happened. Harry fell into the chair, breathing heavily, drenched from head to toe and simply exhausted.

"You're stronger than you look," he conceded. "Do you lift weights with Steve and the other boys?"

"Mr. Ford? Nah, I don't like his class," he replied full of bravado.

"Whatever," Harry dismissed. "You could show them a thing or two."

That idea very much appealed to Derrick, and he would have asked more about it had they not been interrupted at that moment by a woman's shriek.

"Derrick Malik Johnson! You come here right this instant!"


	7. Carry a Big Stick

**CHAPTER 7:  
**…**Carry a Big Stick**

The only intelligible thing Harry heard out of Derrick's mouth next resembled "Creepy Carter." Any other words the boy might have spoken were either too unrecognizable or too rude to repeat in polite company.

When Joan Carter neared them, she looked more upset than Harry had ever seen her. "Where have you been? You _know_ you're supposed to be in class right now."

"So are you," Derrick said defiantly. "Why aren't you teaching all your little freaks?"

She took a deep breath and said to Harry, "I'm sorry you had to see this, Mr. White."

To that, Derrick laughed. "Whitey's name is actually White? You've got to be shi…"

"I'm sorry," Harry said loudly as he thumped Derrick on the head with the stick he'd found. "My hand must have slipped."

"Hey! You can't do that," the boy said with suspicious eyes.

"I'm not one of your teachers. I don't have to live by the same rules," he said placidly, though he looked ready to strike again if necessary.

"But _he_ has to live by the rules," Joan interrupted, as she was convincing herself not to seize Derrick by the arm and drag him bodily back to class. That was a rule of teaching that she could not break no mater how the boy bent the rules.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Carter," Harry said deliberately, looking at her in the eyes in hopes that she'd understand his plan. "I took Derrick out here with me. I didn't realize he was supposed to be in class. How silly of me," he said, turning a pointed look at Derrick.

Easily wanting to pass the blame on to someone else, Johnson chimed in, "Right! It's his fault."

"And since it's my fault," Harry continued, "I should make sure he gets to his class. Is it okay, Ms. Carter, if I have Derrick help me back to my room? I do seem to be wetter than I wanted to be."

"Uh, yes, Mr. White, but do understand that Derrick absolutely can not skip his classes on a whim. I hope he didn't try to convince you of that."

"Again, my most sincere apologies," Harry said with extreme melodrama looking from both teacher to student. "I guess I took advantage of him because I didn't know the rules. It won't happen again."

"See that it doesn't," Joan said as she left. She gave him a significant look, and Harry knew he would try to visit her later to sort things out.

When she was safely gone out of earshot, Harry told Derrick to help him back to his room, just as he'd said they would do.

"What was that all about?" Derrick said as if he wanted to have another fight.

"I own you," Harry said softly.

"You don't own jack shi…" the boy started to swear as he leaned in close in a threatening position.

"Language, Mr. Johnson," the man replied condescendingly with a dismissive wave of his hand. "Let me put this in simple terms. I helped you. Now you're going to help me."

"Doing what?"

"First, you're going to get your butt back in class. Second, you're going to take that weight lifting class with me starting tonight. We both need it," he said with a sigh. "And third, I might need a magician's assistant."

"You don't know magic!"

"Then how'd I get this?" Harry said, producing Derrick's wallet at the tips of his fingers as if it had appeared right out of thin air.

"You're just a con artist!"

He shrugged, but did not deny it. "Takes one to know one. But I'd say you're still the one who got conned, not me."

Johnson took back the wallet that Harry had produced and stuffed it in the pockets of the jeans that he'd tried to sag as much as possible within the dress code. Then he pushed the man's chair back to the main building while muttering complaints the whole way.

-&-

The unlikely pair had nearly made it to the main building where Harry's room was located when Umi came walking to them across the courtyard. Unlike Joan earlier, her stride was one more loose and easy, not upset at a child for skipping one of his classes.

Upon seeing her, Harry asked Derrick to stop pushing his chair. The boy chose to comply the first time instead of making complaints about what he was asked to do. He man put his stick to the ground for support and stood up when the woman came over to them.

"You're wet," she declared in surprise as she looked up at him.

He shook his mop of hair from side to side. He was starting to dry out, so it didn't have the same dripping shaggy dog effect that it would have had initially. "I fell into the stream," he said with a grin and a hop as he tried to find his balance.

Umi looked suspiciously from him to the long staff he had. _It's not a staff_, she corrected herself. It just reminded her of one since he was holding it, and he reminded her of Clef. Things just seemed to be getting tangled in each other.

"Where did you get that?" she said as she pointed to his non-staff.

"Derrick found it for me," he said with another smile. He couldn't help himself from smiling at her, and he didn't repress the happy feeling he'd gotten at seeing her. "I think I'll keep it. It's more stylish than crutches."

"He just wants to hit people with it," the boy mumbled and rubbed the back of his head, causing Umi to raise an eyebrow and look at him. She knew first hand about Clef's habits with his staff. When magic or words didn't prevail, he literally tried to knock sense into a person.

"Did you hit him?" she accused.

His smile started to fade as he admitted that he had. Umi just nodded, keeping track of another one of his Clef-like ways. Then she tried a different tactic.

"I had a phone call with my friend Hikaru today," she started sweetly. "We were talking about the time when we traveled to Cephiro. I think the people must have really loved her! Some even called her the pillar of the community."

As Umi watched Harry, he gave no overt reaction to the deliberate clues that she'd supplied him. He clutched his staff and looked at her politely. "Where is Cephiro? With that name it sounds like it could be in Italy or Spain…"

"Or Mexico," Derrick added helpfully.

"It's nowhere on the map," she said, looking down and away from him. "Maybe I thought of it because of the blue sky today. The skies there always seemed like this. It's the most enchanting place I've ever known."

"It is beautiful today," he agreed, "except that I'm all wet."

"You need to change your clothes!" Umi replied logically.

He nodded and added, "I also have to speak to a few people while Derrick goes back to class. Would you _please_ help me to make sure he does?"

"Of course," she nodded. Umi had one her fair share of handing unruly boys both at home and Cephiro before she'd come to America. Because she wasn't constantly with them like a teacher, it seemed that she was more effective with them.

The trio finished the journey inside, and after Harry was situated safely, Umi escorted Derrick to his appropriate class.

-&-

After his misadventure outside and brief conversation with Umi, Harry was in better spirits. He set his new staff in his room and made a mental note to ask his new friend Steve if he could get him some wood stain and polyurethane.

He had the mental idea that he could finish and decorate it like the old shamans used to do. He'd need some feathers, beads, and maybe some leather. It was his next private project, he decided. He might even be able to use it in his magic act, he mused.

After he decided that, he wondered again to the short conversation he had with Umi. He'd seen her in the last week, but honestly not as much as he would have hoped. Her physical appearance was very deceptive. While she looked like a damsel from the stories who needed rescuing, she was forceful, competent and temperamental.

_She is an enigma, but not one for you to figure out_, he reminded himself because he needed it. He was not about to poach on another man's territory, and Umi Ryuuzaki was engaged, though certainly not to him.

Taking the yoke of responsibility, he sought out Patricia to explain his absence from their meeting. She was understanding and kind, but she admonished him that had he asked, they could have had their meeting outside. He felt guilty and idiotic for not thinking of it himself. Then Patricia assessed that she was glad he was feeling good enough to venture out on the grounds.

After that, he knew he had to visit Joan. He hoped he remembered the right time of day for her planning period that she'd had the last week when she'd taken the photographs of him. As he came near her office, it would seem that he was in luck.

Harry knocked on the door and waited for her to acknowledge him. When Joan looked up from the stack of papers she was grading, she made a vague notion at the empty chairs in front of her desk. Walking in slowly on the crutches, he made his way to one and sat down.

"Did Derrick push you in the water?" she asked with concern after an awkward silent moment had passed.

"No! I fell, and he helped me out of it. He didn't _want_ to help me," he said ruefully, "but I gave him a good motivational speech."

"Uh-huh," she dismissed. "So what were you doing outside in the water, if you don't mind me asking?"

"The same thing Derrick was. I had somewhere I was supposed to be, but I decided I didn't want to go," he admitted.

Joan looked at him with a tired expression. "Thank you for helping me get him back to class, but I really hope you weren't giving the boy ideas. This is a school, and the children have places to be."

"I realize that," he answered with a small sound of annoyance. It's not that he didn't appreciate what she was saying, but like most any other person, he didn't like being the object of a lecture. "I came to ask you what you can tell me about Derrick. I know you can't tell me _everything_, but is there something to go on so I could try to help the boy?"

Joan leaned back in her chair thinking about confidentiality issues that were so important when working with the children. "This is more of Patricia's area, you know. That's one of the things a counselor handles."

"Right," he nodded because she was logical. "I was just with Patricia, but I didn't think to ask her. It was _you_ who came and found us, though, so what can you tell me?"

When she started to speak, it was with slow careful words. "He doesn't have a physical handicap, but he's suffered great trauma. He comes from a background of poverty and violence. That boy's seen things no grown man should ever have to see in his life."

"A handicap of a different sort," Harry concluded, speaking more to himself than to Joan. Addressing her, he asked, "If he's poor, how can he afford to come to this school?"

"The same way you do, Mr. White," she said with a sigh as she threw her pen down on her desk. "The Templetons sponsor him for free."

"I've decided I want to help him," Harry started.

"As if _we_ aren't trying to help him?" Joan said testily.

"No," he answered giving her an equally sharp look. "That's _not_ what I meant. I've got plans for some activities we can do together that I think he might like."

"Fine," she said with a tired sound in her voice that indicated she had a stressful day. "Just make sure he doesn't skip any of his classes when he's helping you do these… activities."

"Of course not," he said as he rose to leave. "Thank you."

Joan picked up her grading pen and returned to grading papers as he hobbled out the door.

-&-

"You're weak, man! Weak! You can do better than that! Your itty-bitty grandmother had more muscle than you do!"

The sound of clanking metal was heard all around him, and Harry struggled to finish his bench press. He grunted and put the bar in place with the guide of his spotter's hands.

"What do you think you are? A drill sergeant?" he asked Steve while wiping his brow.

"In another life," Ford answered, "and you need it. I heard about your little escapade down in the stream today."

"Yeah," he said noncommittally. "Doesn't take much time for rumor to get around this place, does it?"

"No, but that's not why I know. I happen to be very close friends with Miss Jessie Walter."

"A-ha. There's something I should tell you about that then," Harry said.

"Go on," Ford urged as wiped the bench clean for the next pair. Cleanliness on the equipment was simple common courtesy in his book.

"I invited Derrick Johnson to come lift weights with us. He is a pretty strong kid. He helped me get out of the water, and I think he'd actually like it," he said earnestly.

Steve sighed at his new friend. "I've already tried to ask him. The kid won't come. He's just not ready yet. Derrick's too busy pretending he doesn't want or need our help."

Harry looked around to the kids in the room working on their separate exercises. He knew when Steve first told him about it that he was right about building young boys' self-esteem. All young people needed a bit of reassurance, no matter what gender they were. It just seemed that attention in that direction had been focused more on girls than boys.

"Will wonders never cease…" Steve said, pointing at the door to the gym.

When Harry looked over, he saw Derrick Johnson standing there, and though he looked apprehensive, the boy had actually submitted to coercion and come.


	8. New Friends and Wedding Plans

**Chapter 8:  
****New Friends and Wedding Plans**

"Hey, man!" one of the boys in the weight room shouted in greeting to Derrick.

Johnson looked in surprised at the kid who seemed happy that he came. It was a Korean boy named Will who was a year older than himself. As the two teenagers were assessing each other, Steve Ford walked over to them.

"Good to see you here," the teacher said. "Do you have your gym clothes in your locker?"

Derrick nodded while keeping his eyes watching everyone in the room.

"Get changed, and when you come back I'll set you and Will up together as partners. Will can show you how everything is done," Ford said, confidently putting his hand on the other boy's shoulder.

Harry watched Derrick when he came back from the locker room. Will seemed like a friendly boy who was actually happy to see Derrick. When they laughed while spotting each other for exercises, he thought he saw the foundations of friendship forming. Maybe his idea wasn't so bad after all.

Some time later the sound of a whistle cut through the sounds in the gym. "It's almost time to eat. Clean up and hit the showers, men!"

The boys, including Derrick and Will, did what they were told, but Harry stayed back from the showers to talk to Steve.

"So, do you think that went well?"

Steve looked at him knowingly. "You will get stronger, and it looks like Derrick did fine. I don't know how you convinced him to come here, but I'm glad you did."

"I have a feeling Will wants to be his friend," Harry offered.

"We all need friends," the other man said with a teasing smile. "And my friend, you need a shower. You stink! Did you think I was talking just to the teenagers or something? Get yourself in the shower now, soldier!"

Harry laughed in return. "I think I've had enough water today, but… Permission to take a shower, sir!" He accompanied the statement with a mock military salute.

"Granted! Move out, cadet!" Steve barked as him.

In the days that followed, Harry and Derrick developed a routine that included Will, who against Johnson's protestations decided to fill the spot of friend. They would do weight lifting with Mr. Ford and the boys in the afternoons after school was over. After supper had been eaten, there would be rounds of homework and magic practice. Will, being the older of the two boys, was usually the one to help Derrick, and both stuck around to learn whatever tricks Harry was practicing.

One of the first tricks the trio learned was a card trick involving twenty-one cards. It was grounded firmly in numbers and the law of averages, but somehow the dealer always figured out the guesser's magic card. It was such a novelty that the boys practiced it with all their friends until almost everyone knew that trick themselves.

"You forgot the first law of the magic code," Harry said to them one afternoon. It was one of the few days they weren't in the weight room, so they were sitting in the commons area. "You _never_ tell others how the tricks work!"

Will laughed and poked Derrick in the ribs with his elbow. "I guess we'd better learn another trick."

Taking up where the older boy had left off, Johnson said, "That's right. How else will he know if we can keep magic secrets?"

"Logical," Harry commented as he put the finishing touches on the stick he and Derrick had found. He'd gotten all his supplies and ornamented it in a way that looked like something from a Plains Indian shaman.

"Medicine man have big ju ju!" Derrick joked when he watched Harry shake the stick.

Harry laughed in satisfaction, and then he declared, "I need a cape or something. All the traditional magicians have the tuxedos, and the other ones have their magical robes."

"Mrs. Templeton has some choir robes," Will said.

"That would work," the man said in a plotting way.

"And maracas!" Derrick interjected. "It will look like you're raising the spirits of the dead. Let's go, Will!"

The boys ran off to get a suitable choir robe and maracas. Harry supposed shamans used noise makers. He wondered how an inner-city kid like Derrick would know, but it wasn't important. Johnson did know, and both he and Will were getting along like old friends.

When they came back with the robes, they were huge. Their size made them perfect for tricks of slight of hand. Harry decided to try it out immediately on some of the unsuspecting children gathered in the commons. He shook the maracas at one table of people to get their attention.

At first most of the people didn't notice the impromptu magic show. As Harry and the boys tried more tricks, the kids began to gather around to see what was happening. He did a card trick with one boy and made a rose seemingly appear out of nowhere for one of the girls. He also made several objects disappear and reappear in new places. The sounds of being impressed went in waves throughout the crowd.

It was that set of sounds that Umi heard. She had been asked to go find Scott, and she walked by the show in progress. When she realized what was happening, shock etched on her face. While Harry had been wearing the robe acting like a shaman, it was in that position close to the ground and with his staff decorated as it was that Umi thought she was watching Clef.

"I'm going mad," she said softly out loud.

"What?" asked Jessie, who had come to stand beside her.

"Harry," Umi mumbled.

"Yes! He's great with the kids, don't you think?"

"I would have never expected it," she replied, but she was really referring to Clef and children. The mage did not interact with them the times she was in Cephiro. He was too busy with other tasks, but she couldn't imagine that he would have been very good with them. His temper was too big for such a small man.

When he finished his show, Harry bowed graciously and acknowledged Derrick and Will who were smiling widely and clearly loving the attention. He then saw Umi and Jessie standing beside each other, so he waved at them and shook his stick.

"It was very good," Umi said as she shook the boys' hands. She saved Harry for last. "Joan would be proud of you," was all she said to him as she held his hand, but she didn't let it go for a long time.

"I agree," Jessie said happily, breaking Umi's trance.

"Excuse me," the blue eyed woman said as she reluctantly took her hand out of Harry's grasp. "I have to go find Scott."

"More lovey-dovey stuff?" teased Jessie.

"Something like that," Umi replied. "His parents want to talk wedding plans."

"Good luck!" her friend shouted before giving her attention to Harry. "I'm taking Diana and a few of the other girls to the mall. It's her birthday, and she wanted to get her ears pierced. I thought you might want to get out for a bit and come with us."

He didn't know what to say at first, but the nudging of the boys beside him was a clue that he should say yes. "I have a feeling Derrick and Will want to go, too. Would that be all right?"

Jessie looked over his shoulder at the boys who had immediately sat up as piously as cherubs. "You can keep a handle on these two?" she asked about his magical accomplices.

Harry gave them a slow, meaningful look. "I believe I can. Isn't that right, boys?"

"Yes, Ms. Walter!" Will said, his head bobbing up and down.

"Do you boys have any money? We'll probably be eating at the food court instead of having something here."

The interested look on their faces fell. "No," Derrick said.

"I'll take care of it," Harry said.

Derrick turned to him in surprise. "We're going to pay for this later, aren't we?"

"You know it," the man said. "Extra homework, extra magic practice… there'll be something you can do to make it up."

"That settles it," Jessie said, clapping her hands together. "I'll get the girls, and you three clean up the remains of your show. We'll meet each other at the van in a half hour. See you then!"

Umi left Harry's magic show and walked into the stables where Scott was helping a pregnant mare. She watched him glide gentle hands over her heaving sides and whisper soft words of comfort to her. The brown mare responded as if they were having a conversation that only they understood.

While she was waiting, Umi sat down on a hay bale. She arranged her skirts, which were longer than the ones she wore in her school uniform, around her legs so the straw wouldn't scratch her. There she watched Scott in his element giving truly loving care to the animals in the barn.

Scott wore work jeans and a flannel shirt with leather gloves. His dark brown hair was in disarray, but he looked happy with green eyes gleaming. His love and concern for the animals was genuine, making him a natural to be a veterinarian.

As he was leaving the horse stall, one of the goats came behind him and bumped him in the rear. Umi let out a giggle at the sight while Scott turned to pet the animal.

"When did you sneak in here?" he asked with a smile as he played with the goat.

"Only a few minutes ago," Umi said with the light of laughter still in her eyes.

He strode over to her and sat at her feet. Then he romantically took her hands in his gloved ones and asked, "To what do I owe this honor?"

"Your parents have invited us for supper to discuss wedding plans."

"Excellent! This is going to be a great wedding, you know," he said with a wink.

"It will be," she said with a soft smile. "Of course, it wouldn't be the same without your parents' help. I just never thought about wedding details before."

"Really?" he teased. "Most girls I've known have their weddings already dreamed and planned by the time they were thirteen or fourteen."

Umi gave a non-convincing laugh. "When I was fourteen, I had different things on my mind." _Saving Cephiro would be one of those things._ "My own parents, though, were really romantic. I am sure they would be so excited to make plans."

"Does it hurt you that they can't be here?" he asked as he reached to stroke her face with a now gloveless hand.

"Sometimes," she sighed. "I often wish that all the people I love or have ever loved could be together in one place, but that is only a dream."

"It's a good dream," he said as he held her hands again.

"Thank you," she murmured before changing subjects. "Anyway, your mother said 'Go ask, Scott.' So here I am."

As he looked at her, Umi studied his face. He was boyishly handsome with dark hair and his long bangs falling in his green eyes. Here in the barn he had animals around him. She'd watched him play with the goat and take care of the horse that was certain to foal soon.

"Ascot," she said with trembling realization.

She ran her fingers through the long bangs of his hair so she could see his bright eyes. Everything fit perfectly. How could she have not noticed before? Taking action, Umi did the one thing that she felt needed to be done. She leaned over and kissed Scott deeply, taking him completely by surprise.

"Oh," he said in almost a whimper when their lips parted, "that was good. You'll scare the animals if you keep doing that."

"I just wanted to make sure it was you," she said breathlessly.

"Of course, it's me!" he said with a shaky laugh. "I certainly hope you aren't kissing other men that way to figure out if it's really them."

"No, Scott. I'm not kissing anyone else."

"Then what's gotten into you? Is it preplanning jitters?"

"I guess so," Umi said evasively. "Honestly, I don't care about ceremony. I just want to be with the man I love."

"And that's me," he said with a wide grin. "I'm the luckiest man alive."

Scott moved to sit beside her on the hay and then pulled Umi into his lap. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her temple. She thought that this was the way love was supposed to be: simple and pure. A tear slid down her cheek.

"Umi? What's wrong?" he said as he wiped the tear away with his fingertip.

She shook her head in denial. "Nothing really. I'm being sentimental with all this talk of the wedding and family."

"And pretty soon, we'll have to talk about making our own family," he said with his arm wrapped around her and his hand patting significantly on her belly.

"Children," Umi said with a whisper. She didn't think about that, either, even though it was logical for one to want to have children with her beloved.

"Later," Scott laughed in her ear, "after we're married. You will excuse me if I am rather old-fashioned."

She smiled and turned her face to him. "That's one of the things I like about you."

"Good," Scott said as he kissed her on her pert nose. "I will see you and my parents for supper. Let me finish here."

"Of course," she replied as they both got up from where they'd been sitting. Umi left the barn while Scott finished attending the animals.


	9. The Ears Have It

**CHAPTER 9:  
****The Ears Have It**

Harry, Derrick and Will met Jessie and her four girls at the ranch's van. This time he was better able to get himself inside without help. He was buckling his seatbelt when Jessie started talking to him.

"So the last time you were off the ranch…"

"Was when I was in the hospital," he finished. His accident had been nearly 4 weeks ago. His mobility was still impaired, but he was determined to get better.

"Hopefully you'll have some fun," Jessie replied with a smile before turning to the back to make sure the teenagers were seated properly. "Six kids. That leaves three for each of us. Do you think you can handle it?"

"We're already on our way, so it doesn't matter," he said as they left the driveway.

A short while later, something occurred to Harry to ask. "Wouldn't it be better to go on a weekend? The drive alone takes about an hour one way, right?"

Jessie nodded. "That's true, but on the weekend it wouldn't be Diana's birthday any more. She's been waiting for this for a while, her parents finally gave their permission, and we didn't want to disappoint her."

"I can understand that," he said slowly, "but why are the other girls with her?"

She laughed. "Girls move in packs. Don't you know that? It's like there's safety in numbers, especially in the teen years. Besides, like your boys, who can pass up a free trip to the mall?"

The rest of the drive to the mall went without any more fuss than normal for two adults traveling with six teenagers. From time to time there were complaints about the music choices on the van radio, but two of the girls brought their own music.

When they arrived, Jessie gave clear instructions. "You have an hour to look at whatever you want, but you have to stay with a buddy. Meet us back at the clock in the middle of the mall, and then we'll have supper and head on out. Any questions?"

None of the teens asked a thing, and the pairs were easily made. Will and Derrick ran off to look at electronics and video games. Diana, the birthday girl, and Christina went to go do the ear piercing. The other two girls, Jada and Rebecca, went to look at clothing.

"Wow," Harry said as all the teens left. "That was amazing."

Jessie nodded her head. "It's the fastest way I know to clear a room full of teenagers. Do you have anything you want to see before we meet back up with them?"

"Books, please," he said.

There might be something that could help him make sense of his dreams. He'd been writing them down as well as any hints of memory that floated on his conscious, but it wasn't yet to the point where it was making sense to him. He was also curious about any books on magic and illusions he hadn't gotten yet through the library.

-

When it was time to meet at the clock at the right time, the two adults and four of the teenagers were present. Will and Derrick ran over with some new gaming magazine that had been bought in one of the stores.

"I thought you said you didn't have any money," Harry said suspiciously.

"Not for food!" Will said. "This is more important."

"I see where their priorities are," he murmured to Jessie.

She laughed with him and then asked the kids if they'd seen Diana and Christina.

"Diana's still at Claire's trying to pick out earrings," Jada said, sounding bored.

"Look, we need to get going. We did have a schedule," Jessie declared.

The group went to Claire's as one to retrieve the other girls and see what Diana had chosen for her birthday. The scene at the jewelry store was anything but lovely. Diana still hadn't gotten her ears pierced, and she and Christina were bickering over something. This went on for what seemed like minutes while the others observed. The whole thing was starting to give Harry a headache.

"_Stop_ arguing!" he barked at the girls. He didn't know how the little creatures ever came to a decision. Both of them did finally stop and looked to the man in embarrassment. He took their pause to continue to get to the heart of the matter.

"Diana, do you want to get your ears pierced?" he asked while looking only at the girl.

"Yes," she sniveled, "but Christina won't go with me."

"Is _that_ all? You want someone to be there to hold your hand?" he asked with no small measure of annoyance.

"Well…" she started and acted like she was going to burst into tears.

"So you want to do this?" he asked again, trying to get a hold on this ridiculous situation.

Diana nodded and sniffed.

"Fine," he said in a tone that indicated he was taking control of the situation. "I'll go with you."

"What?" she said, finally looking up at him.

"You can't do that!" Christina said because she didn't want to be left out.

"I can. I'm an adult, and I don't answer to _you_," he said with satisfying sneer. To Diana he said, "Come on. I'll get my ears pierced, too, and I'll let you pick out my earrings—as long as you don't take forever to do it."

The girl practically bounced over to the case where the starter earrings were displayed. Immediately she knew which ones she wanted for herself. They looked like stars but they had a simulated diamond in the middle. When she took too long to decide which starter pair for him, Harry rushed her along with an impatient hand gesture.

"Hurry up, Diana. I'm not getting any younger here, and we have to be getting back."

She sucked in her breath and nodded at him. After another moment of looking at the choices again, she picked a pair of golden hoop earrings. "Those!" she said triumphantly.

The shop girl looked to him for confirmation, and he nodded slightly. She started to prep his ears while Diana smiled at him triumphantly.

"Come here and hold my hand while she does this," Harry said. Diana ran over to him and put her little hand in his. "Why did you pick the hoops?" he asked her right before the first earring was put in his lobe.

"It makes you look like a pirate!" she said with a squeal. "Like Johnny Depp or Orlando Bloom."

"That's good?" he asked as the other earring pierced his flesh.

Diana smiled super wide and bobbed her head up and down vigorously.

The salesgirl handed him a mirror so he could inspect the finished product. As she was giving the aftercare instructions, he turned his head from side to side to see the little golden hoops glinting from behind his thick hair. Harry decided it wasn't a bad effect after all.

"I guess no bling bling for me, huh, Derrick?" he said in a confidential voice to the boy standing near him.

"Hey, man, you can get that later," Derrick answered, clearly amused that Harry would mention "bling." He stifled a giggle and elbowed Will in the ribs after he answered.

"Sure, whatever," Harry muttered and then said, "Okay, it's your turn, Diana."

The girl looked too scared to do it, so he was encouraging. "Did I squeeze your hand too hard when she pierced me?"

"No," she admitted with a soft voice.

"It didn't hurt me, and you can squeeze my hand as hard as you want," he assured her.

Diana sat down in the chair and let the salesgirl do to her what she'd already done to Harry. It was quick, and the sound surprised her enough to make her jump. There wasn't any pain to do it, though.

After Diana finally got her ears pierced, Derrick let out a victorious whoop, Will gave the thumbs up sign, and even Christina grudgingly clapped for her. The girl had a dazed smile as she got down from the chair and made her way with Harry to the register to pay.

As they were walking to the food court when it was all over, Will asked Harry, "So if I want to get a tattoo and I'm scared, you'll get one with me, too, right?"

The man gave the teenager a look that at first registered surprise and then humor. "I don't think so. Nice try."

-

The trip back to the ranch was much as the trip into town. The boys were looking at their magazine, and the girls were chatting. They didn't even seem subdued the later it got; they were still full of energy.

When they parked the vehicle, Umi was making her way from the Templeton house back to her own living quarters. She stopped to greet them as they got out of the van.

"Miss Umi, I did it!" Diana squealed.

The blue haired woman smiled brightly. "Let me see."

Diana smoothed her hair past her ears and modeled the new earrings. "I know it's something little, but I've wanted it for so long. All the other girls had it, and I felt left out, you know?"

"I know a little bit," she said to the girl. "I don't have pierced ears even now."

"That's okay! It wasn't as scary as I thought, and Harry helped me," Diana added with a giggle.

"What did you do?" she said as she gave her attention to the man that had been quietly watching the exchange.

He put his hands in his thick hair and lifted it up to show his ears with new golden ornaments. He turned his head to the right and then to the left mocking a model striking a pose.

Umi's mouth gaped. "What made you do that?"

Harry shrugged his shoulders and said, "It just seemed like something I would do. Besides, our little Diana needed moral support, especially on her birthday."

"That's right! Happy birthday, Diana," she added.

Jessie looked at her friend and asked, "Have you been with Scott all this time?"

"Most of it," she said with a tired sigh. "The plans are a lot of work."

Jessie nodded understandingly and then gave the teens their last instructions while the other two adults listened. Harry couldn't help noticing Umi staring at him as the other woman was talking. The expression on the once Water Knight's face didn't look very happy at all.

"What?" he asked with a sigh. "You don't like a man with ear rings?"

"It's nothing," she lied as she looked away from him. Umi then excused herself and finished walking to her own quarters.

Harry's eyes followed her, and he thought something troubling was on her mind. He left with Jessie and walked back to the main building where he was living.

-

A half hour later Umi was in her pajamas and sitting on her sofa to enjoy a cup of tea before bed. It had been a long day full of work, wedding plans and a few surprises. Two of them would be how much more Clef-like Harry was becoming. She'd seen him wearing the oversized robe and playing with the children as a magician, and then he came back to the ranch with earrings. It was mind boggling, and she didn't know what to expect next.

A knock on her door interrupted her thoughts. At this time of night it was probably Scott coming to give her a goodnight kiss or something. She set the tea on her table and went to answer the door. Surprisingly, the person on the other side of the door wasn't Scott at all. It was Harry.

"Hello?" she said with a level of confusion.

"I'm sorry if I'm disturbing you, but I was worried about you," he said.

"Why would you be worried about me?" she asked, still clearly surprised to see him standing on her doorstep.

"You seemed more than just tired a while ago. I can't explain why, but I thought something was wrong." A moment passed, and he asked humbly, "May I come in?"

Umi snapped out of her surprised daze and invited him inside. "Would you like some tea?" she offered. "I was just about to have some."

"Yes, please," he said as he sat in the chair by her sofa.

While Umi rushed to the tiny kitchen, Harry looked around her living room. The small bungalow was very quaint. He'd been told that teachers lived in ones scattered across the property, but he realized this was the first time for him to visit Umi privately and actually see one.

She quickly returned to him with a tea tray and then took her place on the sofa. She watched him as he mixed the tea to his liking and took a sip. He smiled in satisfaction at the taste.

"Thank you," he said graciously. Then he added, "I think this is the first time I've been alone with you since you gave me that bag of fruit in the hospital."

Umi nodded and asked, "How's Fyula?"

"Still swimming," he chuckled. "It was a beautiful gift. Thank you for that, too."

"You're welcome," Umi replied as she set down her cup.

"So…" Harry started unsurely. "Would you like to tell me what's bothering you? I think I can be a good listener. I might not even remember to tell your secrets later! That's one good thing about amnesia, right?"

Umi laughed. "I don't think it works that way. But," she added soberly, "there are some things on my mind, and some of it has to do with you."

His blue eyes filled with concern before he took her hand in his. "Please, talk to me, Umi."


	10. Meditations

**CHAPTER 10:  
****Meditations**

The early spring sunlight shone in through the window caressing his sleeping face. Soft, not quite purple hair was splayed out on the pillow in disarray, and his hand reached out to caress something that wasn't there. He let out a groan, and slowly blue eyes opened up to the morning and the sun shining bright in all its glory.

Taking a deep breath, he reached for the journal he'd been keeping since he'd come to the ranch. It was mid April now, and the accident happened on the third day of March. That day was easy enough to remember because it was Umi's birthday.

When he thought of her, he reached up to touch one of his earrings. It was the same day that he'd gotten his ears pierced that they'd had a private talk together. Before that, he knew he was attracted to the woman. He knew _that_ fact almost instantly. After getting a chance to get to know her as he had when they'd finally talked that evening had not changed his feelings about her. If anything, it made his attraction and desire for her more intense because he realize that he honestly did like her as opposed to something fleeting and shallow.

Putting his head down over the journal, some of his hair fell in his eyes. He pushed it back before beginning to write.

_I haven't seen many true mountains since I have been here, but in my dreams there are many mountains. The strangest thing of all is that one of them floats. I have no idea where I could have gotten that idea. I might have been watching too much TV. It reminds me of the floating eye on the dollar bill. Is there a reason I see floating mountains that somehow remind me of floating pyramids? It's certainly not because I am Egyptian. I still don't know many things about who I am, but I know very much about who and what I am not._

He put the pen and journal on the bedside table and moved his legs to stand. He was assured that his progress was moving quickly, and for that he was thankful. Then he went to feed his fish Fyula. He enjoyed the fish for many reasons, including the meditative and tranquil qualities of having a fish swimming nearby. The fact that he was a gift from Umi was a bonus.

On their discussion she reminded him again how he'd looked almost exactly like someone she used to know and love. He joked that maybe he actually was the same person, and she had laughed. Then she told him about Scott and the wedding. When he'd asked her, she supplied a few details about herself. They were talking to each other until well after midnight. Then he had realized it was far too late to be staying at her bungalow, so he went home and slept late the next day.

This day was obviously different, though. He was up early and ready to tackle the day. Joan had brought new books as she often did. Derrick and Will were finally learning a few tricks on their own. He thought they might make a small magic show for the rest of the kids sometime in May. Steve had said he'd probably still be there working on his rehabilitation, and that also gave them time to practice a show.

All the staff and kids had a busy spring. Coming up for the older students was a formal dance and then a camping trip. There were the normal stresses for end of the year tests. Then at the end of it all, Umi and Scott would be getting married in June. It seemed like everything was tumbling away quickly.

He dressed himself, pulling a black t-shirt over his head and went to breakfast. It was time to face the day and find out whatever craziness it had in store for him.

After breakfast was complete Harry went to his counseling session with Patricia.

"Are you remembering anything new?" she gently prodded.

He sighed. "It still doesn't make sense to me. I know things about myself. I'm fond of calm and peace. I enjoy animals, much like Scott but not enough to do his work. I rather like tea. I am waiting for my history come and make everything make sense to me.

"For example," he said as he leaned forward, putting his elbows on his knees, "why do I like tea? Is it because it was a family ritual? Maybe my mother used to give it to me or a wife, or I just don't know."

"A wife?" she asked with interest. "Now there is something you haven't mentioned before. What made you think you could have been married?"

"It's a feeling," he started. "I feel that I must have loved someone terribly. I have a sense of absence for a love that should be there and isn't."

Changing subjects, he asked her, "Has anything come from the searches? No one's come to identify my photograph?"

Patricia took his hand, which immediately meant there was bad news. "So far there is nothing. The police are trying, and Umi did make sure to put your photo on the internet. We haven't come up with anything of use."

"Thank you," he said, though his feeling was not one of optimism.

When they'd finished their session, he walked slowly back to this room. The promise of the day that the bright sunlight brought seemed temporarily dimmed.

In the mid-afternoon Harry was sitting on his bed practicing one of his card tricks when he heard a light knock on his door. "Come!" he shouted, not looking up from his hands.

"I brought you a new book," a woman's voice said. While it was Joan Carter who usually brought him his books, this time the voice belonged to Umi.

"Umi!" he said in happy surprise as he glanced up at her.

She stepped meekly across the threshold of his room. It was as if she didn't feel she had a right to be there. Of course, he could be reading her wrong. They did seem to become more comfortable with each other after he visited her those few nights ago.

Umi offered him the new book, and he put his deck of cards away so he could take it from her.

"It's just a cartoon book, but we thought you might like it. Maybe it will make you laugh," she explained.

"Thank you," he said with a smile as he offered for her to sit in the chair beside him. He needed a laugh after his temporarily slump this morning.

Umi took the seat, and she closed her eyes, remembering for herself how similar it was to the time she'd visited him in the hospital. As he turned the pages of the book, he began to chuckle at some of the antics of the characters. Hearing that laughter in her ears was a golden experience, and she realized how little she'd heard Clef laugh. He didn't have much reason to laugh in the times she'd been in Cephiro, but here on Earth, Harry usually laughed freely despite his troubles.

"Umi, look at this!" he invited with a smile.

She looked at him and the book, and he beckoned her to come closer. Being curious, she slipped beside him on the bed. He reached his right arm around her waist and pulled her flush against him as he leaned over to show one of the cartoon panels. Umi didn't have time to be surprised at being so close to him as she looked down and started laughing at the pictures with him.

They continued to read the cartoons together, and they fell into an easy rhythm. Harry had the left side of the book while Umi turned the pages and held the book with her right hand. His arm was still around her, so whenever they laughed, they leaned in to each other. She could feel him around her and could smell his clean scent when she breathed in deeply.

Umi looked over her shoulder and up into his face, liking what she saw there. His eyes were sparkling, and he was smiling with amusement. The small golden earrings glinted behind his hair. She had the strongest urge to touch his ears, something she would have never dared with Clef.

Beginning to give in to impulse, Umi reached her hand and placed it softly on his face. "It's good to hear you laugh," she added to cover her nerves.

He smiled back at her contentedly and licked his lips before opening his mouth to say something. The words he intended to speak never did not come out because at that moment they both heard the sounds of Scott coming down the hallway. As if a mask had dropped over his face, his expression changed from one of happiness and bliss to guard and censure.

"I'm going to hell," he said miserably as he looked at her.

"What?" she asked in confusion.

Harry guiltily shoved her away from him. "Get out of my bed!"

Umi plopped unceremoniously on the chair, and was rubbing her hip when Scott walked in the room.

"I thought you'd be here! Did you give him the book?" the green-eyed man asked with a happy tone.

"This one?" Harry asked as he held the book aloft, hiding his face behind is arm.

"Yes! Did you like it?" Scott asked, sounding pleased.

He smiled to himself and dropped his head. "I got a good laugh out of it. Thank you."

"I thought you'd like it. It's one of my favorite cartoons to read in the newspaper. You can keep it as long as you like," Templeton added.

The other man nodded and moved to put the book on the shelf with the rest of his accumulated possessions. He tapped the glass of Fyula's bowl before he turned around to look at the other two in the room.

"Umi, dearest, would you like to go to the movies tomorrow?" Scott asked her as he sat down on Harry's bed. "Joan's Japanese movie is finally here, and she wants you to come see it."

"I remember her telling me about that movie," Harry remarked. "It's called _The Returner_, I believe."

"That's right," Scott nodded. "Joan wants a group of us to go, but most of all she wants Umi. What about you, do you want to see it?"

Harry sighed thoughtfully, "Are you sure there are other people going? I wouldn't want to intrude on a date."

"Heck no!" he answered with a smile. "I'm sure we can convince Jessie and Steve to come."

"It sounds nice," he murmured back to Scott.

Umi looked from one man to the other and got up from the chair. "I think I need to go talk to Joan," she said before walking to the door and exiting quickly.

Joan Carter did not see Umi immediately after she left Harry's room. Instead, Umi walked to the hallway parallel to the lilac-haired man's room and was pacing back and forth talking to herself.

"What was I doing?" she said mortified that she'd been so touchy with the man. In her guilt she started twisting the engagement ring on her finger.

She remembered she was good at pacing. She did that in Cephiro when she was nervous, too. Clef and Fuu had been there to talk her out of it. It wasn't the first time she'd paced near Clef or about something concerning him, if the man across the building even was him.

Umi didn't know for sure who he was, and she hated it. She could probably go ask him, but so far none of the clues she'd supplied seemed to make any sense to him. Yes, they had talked that night when he came to visit her. Even that was like a Clef-like thing to do because in the end Umi did most of the talking and he listened.

In Cephiro when the two had finally made a personal connection, he still hadn't revealed very much of himself to her. Both Caldina and Presea had said he was a private man, and she saw that it was true. Because it was part of his personality, Umi just accepted it, but now she wished she would have known much more about the tiny sorcerer.

Pacing wasn't giving her any answers, and she still had too much energy to contain. She had work to finish in her office, but she vowed afterward to go on a long walk over the property.

In the evening, Harry was eating supper in the cafeteria with children and staff. He happened to be sitting with Steve. The friendship they made was genuine, and he was glad he liked the man so much.

He had his head bent down to take a spoonful of soup when the short hairs on his neck started tingling. Looking up, he saw the probable cause of the sensation. Umi was striding across the room to retrieve some food. She looked as if she'd been running a marathon.

That might be one way to work off tension, he conceded. After their afternoon encounter in his room, he needed to vent some of it himself. If Scott hadn't come and interrupted them when he did, he wasn't honestly sure if he wouldn't have tried to kiss Umi senseless. When they'd been looking at the book, she'd been in his arms like a lover, as if it was natural for her to be there.

It wasn't though. She wasn't his, even if he had admitted to Patricia that he felt a hole in his psyche where someone he loved used to be. Instead, Harry's lowered eyes followed her as she entered and quickly exited the room. He had been so preoccupied with observing Umi that he almost missed the question Steve asked him.

"Are you going to the movie with us tomorrow?"

He nodded. "Scott invited me, and Joan had told me about it when I came. I will be there."

"That's good to know," Jessie said as she came up to the two men. She placed a hand on Harry's shoulder, and then decided to sit down beside him.

"Listen," she started, sounding almost shy, "when we go tomorrow, we won't be escorting a pack of teenagers. I wanted to ask you something."

"We handled that pretty well together," he said, offering a smile.

"Yes, we did, and I thought we'd do something else together. Would you… be my date?" Jessie asked.

The look on his face was pure surprise. He did like her. She was pretty and friendly. They'd gotten along very well in the time he'd known her. More importantly, she was available and not engaged.

"Yes. I'd like that very much," he said nodding his head in agreement.

"Great!" Jessie squealed as she leaned over to give him a happy hug. "I guess it's the six of us tomorrow. That means you've got Joan, Steve."

"I guess so," he said as a knowing look passed on his face.

Luckily, it wasn't noticed by either one of them. He looked from that pair to the door that Umi used a few minutes ago. This informal triple date to the movies was going to be an interesting experience.


	11. Movies and Heroes

**CHAPTER 11:  
****Movies & Heroes**

When Friday came, Joan Carter was full of energy. After the students were released from their classes, she was chatting excitedly with Umi about the movie while being oblivious to everything else around them. The young Japanese woman only smiled at her friend's complete enthusiasm.

"If this movie is as exciting to watch as you are to talk about it, everyone will love it!" she smiled with a twinkle in her eye at Joan.

"I hope so," the older woman gushed. "I'll just check in with everyone else so they know to meet us at the right time."

"Good idea," she nodded.

"It's almost like a triple date," Carter stopped to laugh. "I haven't done anything like that since I was in high school!"

"I never did anything like that," Umi smiled softly. "My closest friends were shy and didn't have boyfriends in high school."

"Some people find the love of their life when they are very young," Joan said. "You do have Scott, after all, and I am still single after all these years."

Umi considered that before giving her friend an encouraging word. "Tonight, you have a date, and you are surrounded by friends. Now go get ready!"

Joan laughed with a salute and went to chat with the other four while Umi went to her living quarters to change from her work clothes into more casual attire.

She eventually chose sneakers, jeans and a loose t-shirt that she tucked into her jeans. Around her small waist she put a thin golden belt of some springy metal that only emphasized the slimness of her hips. Then Umi took her hair out of the French braid she had worn for work and let it fall in free waves about her shoulders. The look was entirely of comfort and ease.

After changing her clothes, she waited somewhat impatiently, sitting on her sofa and leafing through a glossy magazine. Finally, a few minutes before it was time to leave, Umi walked over to the van that Joan would be driving into town. Not one else was waiting there yet, so she stood beside the vehicle where she got an unhindered view of Harry and Jessie coming from the main building where he lived. He walked with a cane, and Jessie was near him for support if he needed it when he walked. He stumbled on a step and she instantly slid her arm around his waist.

The helping gesture made Umi bristle with something she didn't want to acknowledge as jealousy. Given that she and Harry had almost kissed yesterday before being interrupted by Scott, her fiancé, she had plenty of thoughts and emotions that she wasn't comfortable acknowledging. Included in the confusing mix now was how good she thought he looked, even if it was Jessie's arm around him and not hers.

A pair of hands covered Umi's eyes then, and she knew it was Scott sneaking up on her once again. She clasped her hands over his and turned around to hug him. He was taken by surprise when she give him a deep kiss as if to work off all the frustrations she had been having.

"Thank you," he said with his eyes still closed for a moment after the kiss ended. He looked like he was trying to savor the kiss and permanently imprint it into his memory. "We could skip the movie and go do more of that if you like," he finally said.

"We'll be having none of that here," a voice sternly admonished before she could answer. Umi and Scott turned to see Steve, who was hiding something behind his back.

She blushed, turning her face away and covering it shyly with her hand. By that time Harry and Jessie had made it to the van, but there was still no Joan.

"Where's the woman of the hour?" Scott asked them all.

"I'm here!" she said within seconds as she jogged over to them. Joan looked radiantly happy. She wore a simple dress and strappy sandals.

"My lady," Steve said with a low bow, taking the flower from behind his back and handing it over to his date.

"Where did you get this?" she asked in surprise.

"I have my ways," she said before offering her his arm. "Shall I walk you to your door?"

Joan laughed at the chivalrous attention as he walked her to the driver's side door and opened it for her. When she was belted in safely, he walked to his spot as the others loaded up into the vehicle. Umi and Scott sat with each other at the rear of the vehicle with Jessie and Harry in the middle and Steve beside Joan in the front of the van. Efficiently she drove the vehicle away from the ranch, and the group went into the town for the classic date of dinner and a movie.

00

Because the movie was in Japanese, Joan decided that their evening meal should be Japanese, too. She took them to a small restaurant with homey offerings. When one friend asked Umi after the meal if she could prepare dishes like the ones they had eaten, she reminded them that her specialty was baking cakes. Scott then tried to tell an amusing story of Umi almost setting the kitchen on fire one time when she tried deep frying some doughnuts.

"Hot oil is dangerous, and I tried to put out the fire with water," she said to defend herself.

"Umi!" Jessie howled in laughter. "You should know grease fires can't be put out with water."

"My first reaction was water," she said weakly. She had been the Magic Knight of Water; it was what she knew best and her first choice in most any situation.

"Well, anyway," Scott interrupted the tale, "I came in and put it out with flour…"

"And I haven't been back to the kitchen since except to bake a cake for Harry," Umi finished before taking a dainty and ladylike drink of sake.

"Thank you," he whispered appreciatively, to which she acknowledged with a nod.

The group finished their meal and walked to the movie theater. Umi was in her own world while Joan was telling Jessie about Takeshi Kaneshiro, the star of _The Returner_. The men were silent while she happily described his looks.

"He's got these high cheekbones and these eyes…" Her hands were hovering around her face while she described his, and her purse jauntily bounced on her shoulder. "He's so gorgeous. It's no wonder he was a model."

Jessie laughed and threw her own purse over her shoulder. "You sound like one of the ranch girls with a crush on her favorite celebrity!"

Her voice dropped as she answered. "A person is never too old to notice when someone else is good looking."

It was in that moment of the two women leaning together talking about something innocent that a mugger tried to take advantage of them. They were lining up to buy their tickets, and there was a disguising crowd of people both in front of and behind them. Out from the center of the people near the ticket window burst a young man wearing baggy jeans, a black hoody and a black beanie. He looked like any skater on any asphalt street in America, except this one was headed directly for Jessie and Joan.

While the two women were wrapped up in discussing the good-looking star of the movie, the would-be mugger snatched their purses off their shoulders and ran away from them without a backward glance. He did not get very far because it was then that Umi and Harry acted as one unit without forethought to save the purses of their friends.

Umi unlatched the belt coiled around her waist and used it as a whip to strike the man around his neck. She surprised him, and he reached for his throat. That left the thief open for attack from Harry, who used fast reflexes the others didn't even know he had. The man took his cane and struck the mugger at the ankles, sweeping his feet out from underneath him. With another tug of Umi's impromptu whip and a strike of the cane aimed near the young man's kidney, the two easily brought him to submission on the ground.

The event happened so quickly that the thief and the people around them were stunned. He looked up at both Harry and Umi in shock. Together their blue eyes were flashing down on him in anger unlike anything their four friends had yet seen.

"I believe you have something to give back to the ladies," the lavender-haired man finally said in a deadly low voice. When the thief did not reply, he jammed the end of his cane into his stomach.. "Isn't that right?"

He nodded weakly while Umi bent to take the purses away from him. "Thank you. Now leave," she ordered him before nodding at Harry to remove the cane.

The man stumbled to get up and ran away into the alley with the pair watching him vigilantly until the man was completely gone. The tow turned back to find their four friends staring at them in wide-eyed wonder.

"Oh, man! Where did you learn that?" Steve finally asked them both. To Harry specifically he said, "Have you been holding out on me during physical therapy?"

He didn't respond because he didn't know what to say. The idea that someone would violate his friends had made him angry enough to act. Seeking some explanation, he went for the humorous. "I've been watching Jet Li movies with Derrick and Will."

"Well, Jet," Jessie said to him as she slid her arm around his waist to give him a long embrace, "you can save me any time!"

"That doesn't explain our Umi," Joan interrupted from her position standing close to Scott.

The young woman blushed. She had learned that skill from the princesses of Chizeta, but she fell back on something else she could tell them. "I _was_ the captain of my fencing team, you know. I learned how to act quickly in a tough situation."

"I guess you did," Joan said with her voice full of respect and awe.

Feeling more subdued after the near-successful mugging, they walked together up to the ticket window to buy their tickets and quietly sat down to watch the movie.

00

"I liked that movie," Scott announced on the drive home.

It had been quiet in the van, partly because it was late and they were tired. The two couples had traded places, and now Umi and Scott were sitting in the middle seats while Jessie and Harry were in the rear. His talk started to liven things up for them.

"Joan was right about Takeshi. I want one of those men, thanks," Jessie giggled.

"I thought it was supposed to be a Japanese movie. How come I saw so many things from American movies?" Steve asked.

Both Umi and Joan tried to answer that, but Joan ended up declaring with authority that, "Many Japanese movies and anime ideas have been borrowed, without credit, I may add, by the American entertainment media. So they borrowed something back. It still worked, didn't it?"

"I like it," Scott repeated. "It was just fun. Almost getting mugged wasn't fun, but that movie was."

"Yeah, mugging," Steve said as he turned in his seat to look at both Umi and Harry. "You two were an amazing team. If I ever go into a seedy neighborhood, I know who I want watching _my_ back. So, do you think you'd be my bodyguard, Umi?"

A gentle laugh rippled through the van, and he turned back around in his seat to watch the road as Joan drove them home.

After more drive time had passed and they were nearly back to the ranch, Jessie decided to make another move for a date with Harry.

"Thank you for coming to my rescue," she thanked him again with a smile.

"You're welcome," he replied with an embarrassed laugh. They'd all made too much about it. He didn't want anyone hurting his friends; that was all. Of course, the fact that Umi had helped him so closely gave him food for thought, but he had been trying to keep her out of his head.

"Listen," she suggested as she licked her lips, "since we braved the movies and won, would you like to do something else together?"

He looked at her curiously. "What do you have in mind?"

"I thought we could see a video together. I really want to see the Jim Carey and Kate Winslet movie, _Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind_. I haven't seen it yet, and it reminds me of you a little bit."

At that, he had an interested expression on his face. "How so?"

"It's a love story, and there's a major storyline about memory loss. Maybe you'll identify," she said, hoping he'd accept her offer for another date.

Harry thought about what she said. He did not have a concrete reason to refuse her because he did enjoy spending time with Jessie. He could have told her, _No, I think I'll stay by myself and brood about Umi_, but that would not have gone over too well, especially not with Umi and her fiancé sitting right in front of him.

"Yes, thank you for asking me," he said to Jessie, whose expression became very excited.

"Great!" she exclaimed as she took his hand in hers. "How about next week in the lounge? That will give me time to get the movie for us, and it won't interfere with other school night responsibilities."

"I'll be there," he said with a warming smile.

Steve was quietly observing them from the front of the van. It was not unusual for Jessie to express her interest because that was something she had done from the start. She was an honest sort of woman, not one of those who had ulterior motives. It was Harry that concerned him.

Though he considered the man a friend, Steve knew the amnesiac suppressed feelings for Umi. He thought he'd noticed something between them before, and yesterday at supper he saw it again. While he could have passed it off, it was their comfortable and somewhat unique teamwork that made him realize something was underfoot. His resolution was to watch him more closely to find out just what it was.

After the hour's drive was over, Joan pulled into the ranch and parked the vehicle. The six of them descended from the van and did some various bits of stretching.

"Thank you, Joan," Harry replied with a sleepy yawn.

Jessie smiled at him and walked him back to his room while the rest of the thanks was said. Scott followed Umi to her door and stood there in a proprietary fashion until she let him inside. Steve had been watching both couples trying to observe as much as possible.

"That leaves us," Carter replied languidly, interrupting his thoughts.

"That's right," he answered as he turned his head slowly to her. "Would you like to join me for some hot chocolate?"

Joan looked at his offered arm and took it. They were the last pair to disappear into the night.


	12. Subterfuge

**CHAPTER 12:  
****Subterfuge**

It seemed that Steve was not the only one who was going to keep watch of Harry and Jessie the week after they had gone to see _The Returner_. Umi was making it her business to know what the man was doing while the others were still mildly surprised at their impromptu exhibition of teamwork in taking care of the mugger. Her series of interrogations began on Sunday.

"Where did you learn how to do that move with your cane?" she asked as she was walking by him with the protective cover of Patricia and Richard.

He blushed again at the mention. "Umi, you were there. It just seemed like the most natural thing to do."

He didn't direct a question back to her about her little trick with the belt. Though it was common knowledge that Umi had been involved in fencing, it still didn't explain how she'd done it.

"Maybe you were involved in some kind of sport before your accident," she supplied.

Patricia latched on to that idea quickly. "Umi is right, Harry. Maybe there's more to it that we haven't thought about."

"Oh, I don't know," he protested weakly.

"Well," the blue haired girl stated slowly, "I was involved in fencing. My best friend Hikaru has a kendo dojo, and my other friend, Fuu, was on her school archery team."

"But what could I do with a cane?" he sputtered.

Richard supplied a possible theory. "There's quarter staff fighting like in the Robin Hood days," he said as he stroked his chin. "Maybe you were one of those men who dressed up for SCA. That's the Society for Creative Anachronism. They go around the country to various Renaissance fairs.

"Maybe that's how you got here!" he concluded with a snap of fingers. "You might have gotten lost from your troupe."

"Anything is possible," Umi said to keep conversation going. "My magician friend that looks like you had a staff instead of a cane, and he was known to threaten someone with it when he was having a fit of temper."

Harry shook his head. "I wasn't having a 'fit of temper.' I was helping my friends. You're more dangerous than I am, Umi! _You_ play with swords!"

"Not here at the ranch," she finally said in annoyance, "and I was just curious."

He pursed his lips. "I'd like to tell you all that it triggered something in my memory, but it didn't. The only thing I felt was anger that my friends were being violated. Right now, I am feeling an anger of a different sort."

The trio got the hint and left the man alone. He took his cane and walked over to Will and Derrick who had decided to learn a new sleight of hand trick. After a few practices, it went perfectly without a hitch.

000

On Tuesday Umi tried to jog Harry's memory again. She came to the table where he was sitting with Will and Derrick, who were doing their homework. He watched her coming closer and could not decide if he was happy or sad about it. While he enjoyed spending time with her, the hints and prodding that she was starting to do had become obvious to him, at least, even if the people around him didn't notice it.

He was not sure why he was resisting her. The truth was that Umi _could_ be right, and if his identity was so easy to find, he would be a fool to refuse it. Unfortunately, his gut emotional response was a jumbled mix of anger and fear. He had to admit that part of him did not really want to know. Being Harry wasn't so bad, and he had no guarantees that the person he was before would even be worth human flesh.

He let out a contemplative sigh as Umi sat down at the table. "Hello, Mr. White!" she said cheerily.

Though he was looking down on his homework assignment, Derrick snickered. It was still too funny to him to find a white man who had voluntarily called himself "white."

"Hello, Miss Ryuuzaki," Will said to her with a partially dazed look on his face. He was smitten with the Japanese woman, and the fact that she was both fierce and feminine seemed like something out of the best video gamer's fantasy.

"Hello, Will," she acknowledged with another big smile.

While she was usually friendly, she was acting more boisterous about her good mood than normal. It was yet another give away to Harry that she was up to something. He looked at her through the corner of his eye and waited for her next move, which was quick in coming.

"I know I've told you about my two best friends before. Fuu, Hikaru and I were all traveling together when we met that magician friend of mine that could be your twin. I thought you might want to see a picture of them," she offered with a smile.

Before Harry could answer, Derrick asked a question. "You mean that _he_ has a twin out there somewhere?"

Umi nodded. "Either a twin or it could even be him! Wouldn't that be great, Harry?"

"It would be interesting," he said, softly looking at her. If he _had_ known her before it might better explain the familiar or possessive feelings that sometimes came over him.

"Wow! She's cute!" Derrick said as he looked over and saw a picture of Hikaru. "I didn't know Japanese girls could have red hair."

Will was still staring dreamily at Umi, but he answered Derrick. "If they can have the softest looking blue hair, I think they can have red hair, too." He realized he spoke that out loud and immediately he blushed.

"She's nice looking, too," Harry said as he saw the picture of Fuu. "You have attractive friends."

"I just thought that if you were my friend, you might remember better with the photos. You can keep them if you like," she offered.

Harry looked again at the pictures of the very sweet-looking girls. He could tell they were enjoying each other's company very much. They were nice, but he just didn't want them. He shook his head to the negative about taking her photos away from her.

"Miss Ryuuzaki," Derrick asked, "if he is your friend, how come you don't know for sure?"

"It's a good question," Harry said, interested in her answer.

It was Umi's turn to blush. "I was about Will's age then, and my friend was… very short. He would have needed a huge growth spurt to become as tall as Mr. White."

"Oh, that's logical," interjected Will. "But Mr. Ford told us in the weight lifting group that some men grow until they're twenty-one years old."

"Right," Umi said as she stood up and took her photos. "He's definitely older than that," she said and walked away.

000

"One more. You can do it…" a voice above his head encouraged.

Harry grunted and did the last of leg presses for the day. He'd made it to the end of the week and had been doing wonderful progress in his physical therapy. Steve's joke was that he found his inspiration after the events of the previous Friday.

"Very good! You're almost back to perfect condition," Ford said with one of his winning smiles.

"Yeah," he answered as he sat up, "almost perfect except for this." Harry tapped his temple. "I still don't know who I am."

"Hit the showers guys!" Steve yelled out to the boys who were in the weight room. When they were alone, he took his attention back to his friend. "You can't rush something like that, and some people never regain their memories."

Harry glared at him. "You're not helping. You're supposed to tell me everything will be okay."

"It doesn't work like that," he laughed. "A real friend won't lie to you just to spare your feelings. Have you been journaling and working on it like Patricia told you to do?"

"Yes, yes, and yes!" he answered irritably. "And Umi seems to think she knows who I am, and she has been helping this week, too."

"Maybe she does," Steve answered thoughtfully. "She could have heard something back after putting your information up everywhere. Plus, I haven't heard you complaining too loudly about all the attention she's given you this week."

Shaking his head, the other man replied, "She's off limits. Engaged. And I have a date with Jessie tomorrow."

"I know. She's been waiting for this all week. Jessie really likes you, so you'd better appreciate what you've got."

"Thanks. Look, I have to go take some books back to Patricia's office, so I will talk to you later." Harry stood up and gathered his things so he could leave the weight room.

"Hey, cheer up, man," Steve said. "Worst case scenario is that you still have friends here who care about you."

"Right," he agreed glumly. "But there's only so long I can stay here using the Templeton's kindness."

000

Harry made it to Patricia's office, but she was not there. She had probably already gone up to her home for the day since it was the weekend. He placed the items on her desk that she had wanted him to bring, and he turned to leave the building. He still needed the shower he had skipped, and afterward he might go watch a movie in the common room.

His thoughts were elsewhere when the same blue-haired woman who was always on his mind trapped him. "Just the man I wanted to see. I wanted to talk to you some more. I think you really could be that friend of mine, Harry."

"You've been dancing around this all week. He wasn't just a friend was he? I think there's more to the story than just that."

"Yes, well, there wasn't really. We never said anything, if that's what you mean. But I just _know_ that you're him. I wasn't so sure before, but I am now." She clenched her fists for emphasis.

"Damn it!" he swore, much to her surprise. "Don't do this to me, Umi! I have amnesia, and I can't forget _that_. Don't you dare come here toying with my emotions and make me think that I could have been someone who was important to you."

"I don't do that," she said unsurely.

"Yes, you do," he accused. "You parade yourself in front of me reminding me just how out of reach you are. Do you even know how much I'm attracted to you? You are a very cruel woman, and you need to just leave me alone."

At first Umi looked to him timidly, saying, "I'm sorry." Then, the former Magic Knight did what usually came out of her in times like that. She got angry.

"No, I'm not! I'm not teasing you, either. I think you _are_ him, and you don't know it yet! Everything you do is like something he used to do. Everything!"

"Everything?" he mocked.

"Yes! I don't know how you got here or how you grew up, but you _are _him."

"I see," he said sounding angry at her. "You think I'm that man you left behind, and now you're punishing me for it because you can't get to him!"

"I'm not punishing you, you idiot! You need to remember who you are. I know with everything I have that you're him," Umi said again.

"You!" he shouted. "You're delusional. You want that perfect man you used to love, and you seem to think you can mold me into him! I'm not having it, Umi."

"He wasn't perfect!" Umi corrected with her own sharp tongue. "He was a short, perverted old man with a quick temper. That's what he was!"

"Perverted?" he asked as he gave her an appraising look. "I see. So now you're into kink? All this time I thought you were a nice girl, except when you were flaunting yourself in front of me, that is."

Pointing out fact, Umi said, "He tried looking up my best friend's skirt the first time we met. And I haven't been flaunting!" Her hands were balled in fists at her side so she wouldn't be tempted to beat him.

Harry rolled his eyes and shot her a disgusted look. "Oh, _he_ sounds like a real gem."

Her hackles were up in defense of Clef. It might not have been anything she hadn't initially said herself, but no one else was allowed to criticize the man she loved. She admitted that to herself now. No matter how much she cared for Scott, her love of Clef had never gone away.

"Just wait minute!" she chastised immediately.

"I'm not _him_, Umi!" he growled at her in interruption. "You want me to be, but I'm not!"

Her eyes narrowed angrily. "How do you know? _You_ don't even know who you are!"

"I'm not him," Harry repeated. He looked sadly at her. "I want you to like _me_, whoever that is, and not try to make me into some man who lives in your memory."

"I do like you," she said with her voice lowered in surprise.

"How can I trust that?" he asked. "You're not even _allowed_ to like me. Can you understand that? You are an engaged woman."

Umi couldn't argue that, so she looked away from him.

"Scott is in love with you, Umi," Harry said. "Whether or not you love _me_, the real me, you owe it to Scott to treat him better than that. And you'd make my life a whole lot easier if you stop trying to tempt me with what I can't have."

"What's that?" Umi asked foolishly.

"You," he answered fiercely.

Harry turned away from her and walked stiffly out of the room. Umi sadly watched him go and suffered pangs of guilt for having been a part of the cause of his injury. It seemed that she was causing pain and trouble again, except this time it was to his heart.

Unknown to either Umi or Harry was the fact that Steve had seen most of their argument. He had picked up a piece of paper that had fallen out of one of the books that was supposed to be delivered to Patricia. After witnessing this, he knew that things were a lot more troublesome than he originally thought.


	13. The Dating Game

**CHAPTER 13:  
****The Dating Game**

_Umi was in trouble, and he could feel her pain as if it was his very own. He had to save her, and the feeling was too strong to ignore. If she fell, all that they had worked for would be lost. She he was important to them all. She was important to _him.

"_Join your heart with mine!" he screamed to her across the distance and peril. Everything was falling apart, but he had to make her hear him._

_Somehow, she had heard him and they did the impossible. He pulled her to him. He made her safe, but in doing so, he felt so tired. So tired._

_Her long fingers were there instantly, gripping his shoulders, and the hair that fell down her shoulders like a veil shone as a blue halo around his loved one's head. In happiness, he called out to her._

"Umi," he said, and then he realized with a start that he was speaking out loud.

Harry opened his eyes and rolled over onto his stomach. His blue eyes blinked in the spring morning sun. So he had another dream about her. It wasn't surprising after he finally told her what was in his heart yesterday.

He looked over at the end table beside the bed and saw the journal there. For the longest time as per Patricia's advice, he had been writing down his dreams as a link to his past. This time he didn't bother with it, considering that it was probably something made up from his not-so-subconscious desires for the woman.

_Join your heart with mine_. The words mocked him. How foolish he was, even in his dreams! She was not his, but some part of him wasn't getting the hint at all.

He had the date with Jessie this evening, and that was something. He reminded himself that he did truly like her, and spending time with her was enjoyable. Just because he didn't think he was interested in her romantically didn't mean he had to say no to two friends enjoying each other's company.

It was nice in theory, but he knew it wasn't actually like that. Jessie was interested, and he could tell. He was an amnesiac, not a raving idiot—unless he was being idiotic about Umi Ryuuzaki, of course.

He finished his morning stretches to make sure all limbs were working properly, and then Harry got dressed. If he could find time in the afternoon before he saw Jessie, maybe he could go on a hike again on the property. It might help him clear his head better than sitting in his room alone all day would do. The first stop, though, was breakfast, so he made his way to the cafeteria.

-&-

Harry sat alone at a round table eating a bowl of cereal. He had to admit that he was surprised that no one had joined him, but he was enjoying the solitude. He was not sure he would be comfortable around Scott, for example, if he decided to have a morning chat.

It was actually Jessie who came running by to disturb his peace. "Good morning, Sunshine!" she greeted as she tousled his shaggy hair. "I have to go to town this morning, but it turns out I will be there longer than originally intended."

"Is something wrong?" he asked with a frown.

She rolled her eyes. "No, just something tedious. I will be back later, though, and don't forget we have a date."

"I wouldn't dare," he said with a smile. "In fact, I'm looking forward to it."

"Good!" she said as she stood up.

She smoothed some of his hair behind his ear, making him look too cute for words. Before he could protest, Jessie kissed the top of his head and then left as quickly as she had come.

A few seconds later, Steve came racing by looking like he was on a mission. "Have you seen Jessica?"

Harry arched his eyebrows at her full first name. "She just left to go do some errands in town. Something important, but she didn't say what."

Ford swore under his breath. "I needed to talk to her," he said in exasperation.

"You can catch her when she comes back," he offered logically.

"Right," Steve said, his thoughts still preoccupied. "Are you still on for that date this evening?"

"Yes," he replied with a succinct nod.

"Well, good luck," he said as he walked away.

Harry just shook his head at the two friends of his. After he finished his breakfast, he put away the dirty dishes and then prepared to go on his hike outside.

-&-

When evening came, he was ready for his date. He'd showered and made sure he was clean and presentable. He chose a black t-shirt and khaki pants that garnered him compliments a few times. While on his nature hike that day, he even found a new spring flower to press and give to Jessie. He figured she'd like that. So a few minutes before eight o'clock, he went to meet her and see the movie she'd chosen.

No one was in the communal lounge when he arrived, but he noticed that the TV was ready and large comfy pillows were piled beside the sofa in case either felt like sitting on the floor like the teenagers did. Before he could begin to wonder about her absence, Jessie came into the room with a huge bowl of popcorn in one hand and the DVD box in the other.

"This is going to be great! I _love_ Kate Winslet's movies. She is one of my favorite actresses, you know," Jessie began happily. Her smile was contagious, so Harry smiled back at her.

"She always looks so pretty on the red carpet—not trashy like _some_ celebrities," she continued to say. "She's gotten nominated for several Academy Awards. Do you know she hasn't won one yet? Give the woman an Oscar already!"

"What movie is this again?" he asked after her display of enthusiasm for the lead actress.

"_The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind_," she said with a very serious tone before breaking up in laughter. "Kate is in it, and that's all I need to know. She even has blue hair for this just like Umi. Plus, Jim Carrey's in it, and I really like him. He's an underrated actor, if you ask me."

"I'll take your word for it," he said with a playful wink. "I don't know if I've ever seen any of their movies before."

"Oh, you!" she laughed with a playful swat. She smiled winningly at him before putting the DVD in the player and then sat beside him on the sofa. "I think you might identify with the parts about memory loss. I hope you enjoy it."

He turned to gaze at her inviting smile. "I'm sure I will," he replied encouragingly as she snuggled against him.

It turned out the movie was quite long and even a bit strange, but he did, indeed, like it. He could identify with Jim Carrey's character Joel. Joel realized he wanted his love back, and Harry knew he wanted the holes of his own past filled in. He wanted back what was his, and when he watched a blue-haired Kate Winslet, he again thought of Umi.

It was mental torture, and he had to stop it. It wasn't conducive to moving on with people who were actually available and wanted to be with him. It wasn't fair to Jessie who had been holding his hand and sometimes twirling his hair with her fingertips.

"They really loved each other," she later said with a sniffle after the movie was over. "Even though they couldn't remember each other, they were still attracted to each other. It was like it was fate, all beautiful and sad."

She sniffled and wiped at her eyes. "You probably think I'm silly, crying at a movie like this."

"Jessie, I don't think you're silly," Harry said as he again put his hand over hers. He had a sad sympathetic look in his luminous blue eyes.

"I really like you, you know," she said as she looked at him suddenly shyly out of the corner of her eye.

"Thank you," he replied in a small voice.

When Jessie turned her head to finally see him, he had an unsure look on his face. She stood up from the sofa and thought to leave, but she changed her mind. She walked over to him, and, straddling his lap, sat down and began kissing him fervently.

Harry, on the other hand, was so taken by surprise by her action, he didn't know what do. She wasn't the woman he really wanted to kiss, and she wasn't letting him up for air. Unlike how kisses were in the movies they'd seen, this was a decidedly uncomfortable experience, and he felt like he was going to have a fit of claustrophobia. He gasped and clutched at the pillows on the sofa but seemed to have no reprieve from her mouth on top of his.

"Hey, folks," a male voice called out cheerily from the doorway, "I'm sorry to interrupt your date, and I know it's late—but I really need Jessie's help with something important. Jessie, could you come with me, please," Steve said in a begging tone as he looked at her.

"Can't you see I'm a little busy?" she growled at him.

"Sorry, Jess, but I _need_ you," he said, giving her a look of puppy dog eyes.

Though she was still straddling Harry on the sofa, she sighed in frustration at having been interrupted. Then she looked to him as if to ask permission to leave and see whatever it was that Steve wanted. He had a shocked expression on his face, but he coughed and gave her a slight nod.

Jessie got up, grumbling under her breath and went to find out what Steve needed. "This had better be good," she threatened as she walked closer to him.

"Hey, sorry, man!" Steve apologized to Harry before guiding Jessie by the elbow out of the room.

-&-

Whatever it was Jessie thought Steve might want to say, the reality of what happened was quite different.

"Do you want to kiss him some more? I think there still might be something left in his colon that you missed!" Steve hissed at her when they were out of the room.

"What? What's that supposed to mean?" she asked angrily.

"Jessica!" he said, using her full name to get her attention. "He doesn't like you; he likes Umi. I tried to warn you earlier today, but you wouldn't listen to me."

To that she scoffed at him. "He doesn't like her, and Umi and Scott…"

"I _know_ that, but he does like her. You ladies think guys don't know these things, but we do. We just don't talk about it. He's not going to _do_ anything, but he does like her."

"How do you know?" she said in a hurt, accusatory tone.

"All you have to do is watch him. When Umi's in the room, he studies her. He knows exactly what she's doing and where she is. He tries to make himself look like he's not doing it," Steve said with a musing laugh. "It's actually funny because I don't think everyone has picked up on it yet, but I found real proof last night when I heard them having an argument."

She gave him a look of disbelief and then asked with a small voice riddled with doubt and worry, "Does Umi like him back?"

"That is the question, isn't it?" he replied while coming over to offer her a hug. "I honestly didn't hear her confirm or deny it. I think we should watch them and find out. It could be… entertaining."

"She can't have him, Steve! Why does Umi have to get all the good men?" she asked sounding jealous. "Scott loves her, and then _he_ has to fall for her. It's not fair!"

He watched his friend pace before him. "I'm sorry, Jessie," he said lamely.

She stopped her walking then and hugged Steve back, placing her cheek on his chest with a sigh. "Yeah… I was just _really_ attracted to him. I can just imagine what he'd look like in a tangle of bed sheets."

"I don't have to imagine. Unlike you, I've actually seen him naked," he said with a gentle teasing voice.

Jessie pounded him once angrily on the chest with her fist. "Don't say that! You'll start my fantasies going again."

"Oh, believe me; he's started a few different people's fantasies in his time. That's a fact."

Jessie looked up to see his face showing a distant thoughtful expression. "Steve, is there something you need to tell me?"

"Not really," he said, looking back to her. "Just hard not to notice what's there in front of you, you know?"

She stepped back from her friend and gave him a suspicious look. "Let me guess. You're going to tell me that you're attracted to him, too, right?"

"Yes, but that's beside the point," he dismissed, "and if you ever tell anyone I said that, I'll wring your neck. Anyway, the thing is, Jessie, just leave him alone. You'll both be better off that way, and I don't want you to get hurt."

"I guess you're right," she pouted for a while. "I've seen you date plenty of women, so if you've noticed him that means you're…"

"Open-minded," he finished. "Yes, Jessie. Get over it."

"Well, if you don't learn something new every day," she exclaimed. In answer, Steve just shrugged as if to signify he was what he was.

"What now?" she asked.

"Go back to your room and cool off. I'll go to the lounge and make up some excuse to him and smooth things over," he said.

"Fine," Jessie said, raising her hands in defeat. "Just don't go kissing him while you're there. If he likes kissing you more than me, I am going to _really_ be jealous."

"I wouldn't dream of it," he deadpanned, but then he couldn't contain his laughter. "Okay, I might, but I wouldn't actually tell you unless I was trying to get on your nerves."

She punched him in the arm like a sister would an annoying brother. He frowned and waved his hand at his arm as if it smarted. Jessie smiled impishly and then went to her own rooms, away from both Steve and Harry. When she was gone, Ford went back to the common room to get Jessie's DVD and make up some excuse to Harry about why she hadn't come back.

* * *

**Author note**: Yes, this chapter was obviously written before Kate won her Oscar. Congratulations, Kate.


	14. Conversations and Change

**CHAPTER 14:  
****Conversations and Change**

On Sunday, Harry didn't see either one of Jessie or Umi. It was as if both women had disappeared from him. He hadn't stayed in the lounge after Steve took her away, though he had waited a few minutes for her to come back. When it seemed obvious to him that she wasn't, he went back to his room.

Monday afternoon Jessie made an appearance at the study area where Harry was with Will and Derrick.

"Do you think we could have a moment to talk?" she asked with a nod and look over her shoulder. "In private."

"Uh, sure," he answered and fumbled as he stood up to follow her.

Jessie walked outside over to the gazebo. From there they could see spring blooming and looking beautiful around them. She wasn't looking at him at all, but instead had her back turned to him.

"It's gorgeous here," he finally said tentatively. He didn't have a good feeling of what she wanted to discuss, but he still chose to be honest about his impressions of his surroundings.

"It is," she agreed with a solemn nod, "but not as gorgeous as Umi Ryuuzaki, is it?"

Harry blanched. "What?"

Jessie sighed and turned back to face him. "Look, I know you love her; it's written all over everything you do. And I just don't want to play second to anyone. I honestly liked you, but I'm not going to be part of some game you've devised."

He sat down hard on the gazebo bench, feeling as if someone had slapped him. He simply did not know how to react, which prodded Jessie to demand, "Well? Aren't you going to say anything?"

"I never meant to hurt you, Jessie," he said softly as he looked down at his suddenly interesting fingertips. "But I never meant to love her, either. Believe me."

"We can't help who we love, Harry," she said passionately. She knew this and part of her anger was that she knew she couldn't make him change what was in his heart.

"Well, I wish we could!" he said as he looked into her eyes. "Then I wouldn't care for the one person who can't be mine, and we wouldn't be here like this!"

"Yeah? Well, life sucks," she said as she sat down beside him.

He did a double-take and looked at her. Then he started chuckling because he couldn't help it. "_Life sucks_? That's your big nugget of wisdom? Couldn't you give me something better to go on?"

"Nope," she said with a shake of her head. "Remember, I'm the sap that's playing second fiddle to someone else. We're both schmucks."

He shook his head and narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. "I don't think I like being a schmuck."

"Me, neither," she agreed.

A few moments of silence passed between them before Jessie spoke again. "Look, let's just not do this dating thing. It's a bad idea. But I would still like to be friends. You're kinda cool," she teased lightly.

He gave a soft smile. "Thank you. You are, too."

"So, friend," she started as a change of subject, "do you know about the formal dance at the beginning of May?"

"I probably heard the boys talking about it," he said in a tone that indicated he wasn't completely certain.

"It's something we like to do for all the kids in seventh grade on up since we're such a small school. We'll need chaperones, and you will probably look good in a tux."

He frowned. "Are we trying another date? I thought you just said we weren't going to do that."

"It's not a date, but like I said. We need chaperones. Plan on being there," she advised as she stood up.

Before she could walk away, Jessie added, "By the way, there's a theme. It's 'Under the Sea' but without the interference from Disney. Have you ever seen the ocean?"

"Only in my dreams," he replied honestly. What he'd sent there had been breathtaking in its beauty and splendor, but like many other things in his life, he had no memory of having seen it for real.

She nodded at him and then walked away to leave him in the gazebo alone with his thoughts.

* * *

Umi stood in her office wearing impossibly high heels and an impeccable business suit. She always had a flair for fashion, and she hadn't lost it when she left Japan. It was the end of the day on Friday, and she was tired and just wanted to go to her little bungalow and be alone. When two arms snaked around her waist, she knew her wish might not come true.

"Are you coming up to the house this evening?" Scott asked her as he nuzzled her ear.

She grabbed his hands and wiggled out of his grip. "I don't think so, Scott. I just want to go home and relax. Alone. It's been a stressful week."

"Come on! When we're married, you won't always be able to be alone. You'll have to share some of the stuff that troubles you."

"We're not married yet," she blurted with a slight shrug. She blushed after she realized how her words might have sounded. "I… I'm sorry. Like I said, it's been stressful. Um… let me take a nice bath or something, and if I'm feeling better I'll come see you."

"Yeah, sure," he said disappointedly as he watched her scurry away from him.

He couldn't deny his feeling of disappointment, and he rubbed the furrow that had developed deep in his brow. Umi was changing, and he hoped it was only end of the school year stress from work and wedding jitters. Work-wise, they still had to get through the state standardized tests, the formal dance a camping trip for the older students and the end of year finals. Their planned wedding would come close on the heels of that. Even though it was still roughly eight weeks away, he knew the time would pass so quickly that it would be here before they knew it.

Scott trudged slowly up to his parents' house. Without Umi there to visit him, it would probably be another night of beer and pizza in front of the television.

* * *

While Scott was thinking about their immediate future, Umi had made it to her door and shut it tightly, locking it securely behind her. She leaned back against the door for a while, feeling like she was hiding from the world. Maybe she was. Her head was full of confusion, and she didn't want to be with Scott right now, and she didn't want to be with Harry, her other source of confusion, either.

She went into her room and changed out of her work clothes into a much more comfortable outfit. When she was walking back to her little kitchen, the cell phone in her purse rang. Though she had caller ID with her phone, the identity of her caller was unknown.

Cautiously she answered, "Hello?"

"Hello, Miss Umi."

The blue-haired woman almost dropped the phone from her fingers. She fumbled it like a football and struggled to get it back to her ear.

"Fuu? Is that really you?"

The answering laugh sounded like music to Umi's ears. "Of course, it is!"

"What is it?" Umi asked first in panic mode. "Is something wrong? Why are you calling?"

"Miss Umi," Fuu said again to try to put her at ease. "Nothing is wrong here, but I felt sadness in my heart, like you needed to talk to someone. How are _you_?"

That question always meant so little in English, but with her closest friend asking, Umi began to think about it. "I'm not good at all," she admitted after a pause. "Have you talked to Hikaru lately?"

"No," she sad sadly. "I miss her. I miss you. Sometimes I wish you would come home so we could be together again."

"Home," Umi sighed into her little phone. "Not Cephiro? Don't you ever miss Ferio?"

"Yes, but I've had to move on. We can't go back there any more. Do you miss," she paused, unsure whether or not to say his name, "someone?"

"Clef," she said. "It's okay for you to say his name. Yes, I do, but… He might be here, Fuu."

"What? Here on Earth?" she practically shouted.

The sound on the other end of the phone was an uneasy laugh. "Yes. I sent Hikaru his photo. The night of my birthday, Scott proposed to me, and when we were driving home we ran a man over. He looks _exactly_ like the Master Mage except he grew up. He's not a little boy any more, Fuu, and he's here."

The green-eyed woman in Japan was silent on the other end of the phone. Finally, she asked, "Do you care for him?"

"Yes," Umi admitted, "but I'm confused. What if he's not really Clef? And, I'm engaged!" she cried out.

"Why doesn't he know if he's Clef or not?" Fuu asked with her own measure of confusion.

"When we ran him over, he got amnesia," Umi answered woefully.

"I see," she said, taking in the information slowly. "So, you _might_ have feelings for him but you're engaged to someone else, which means you can't have feelings for him anyway. Would you even like him if he didn't look like Clef?"

"I," she paused, "guess. I've been trying not to think about Harry too much, but sometimes I can't help it."

"Harry? Is that his real name?"

"We don't know for sure. It's what he calls himself anyway, right after I told him that Clef was a magician."

Fuu was slightly alarmed. "You _told_ someone about Cephiro?"

"No! At least, not really. If he was really Clef, he'd know what I was talking about, and if not he thinks my 'friend' was a stage magician like Houdini or something," Umi assured her.

"What about Scott?"

The question hung in the air like a black storm waiting to happen.

"Fuu, I don't know what to do," Umi confessed. "I love Scott, and we are to be married in a matter of weeks. I am confused by my memories and everything about this. It's not fair to him. Harry was right about that."

Silence filled the gap so long until the blue-eyed woman thought she might have lost her phone call.

"Miss Umi, do you love yourself?" Fuu asked wisely when she'd thought of the situation.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she questioned, her voice taking on the angry rise in pitch.

"Love is never wrong no matter which man you prefer, but maybe you don't need chose either one until you decide what it is you truly want," she said across the miles. "Just step away and love yourself until everything is clear."

Umi was quiet as she thought about it. Finally, in a tired voice she said, "Thank you, Fuu."

"I am here any time you need me, Miss Umi. Just call," she said sweetly before ending the call.

* * *

After the phone call from Fuu, Umi stayed huddled alone for the whole weekend and never did seek out Scott. She didn't try to find Harry or Clef or whoever he truly was, either. She just gave up.

On Monday morning she started her job going through the motions of work and finding ways to avoid talking to either man. Though it took her a while, by Wednesday afternoon she was in action. Umi found the two men and Steve talking to each other by the ranch van.

"Hi," she waved shyly at them all. She didn't look at any one of them in the eye at first. "I have to talk to you, Scott," she said nervously.

"Oh, well, we'll leave you two alone," Steve volunteered. "Mr. Magic and I were just about to go to town and pick up some supplies for the kids' dance. Then we can put them to work next week on the decorating."

"That's nice," Umi replied without enthusiasm. "Have a nice trip."

"Yeah, you, too," Steve said automatically back to her while he studied both Umi and Scott. To Harry he said, "Come on, hot stuff! Load up!"

The magician nodded politely to both of them. "Bye."

When the two men were well on their way down the dirt road, Scott spoke up. "You wanted to talk to me? I think this is a first since Friday, Umi. What's going on?"

"I… uh… I don't want to talk about it here," she said and slowly turned her head to indicate the wide open parking lot. "Could we go some place more private?"

"Barn's right there," Scott pointed and started walking toward it. Something in his gait showed Umi she would be in for a fight. She remembered the courage that had helped her in Cephiro and she followed him inside the red building.

"So what is it?" he demanded as he spun on his heel to face her.

Umi paced back and forth in front of him wringing her hands. Tears started misting her eyes. "There's no nice way to say this."

"Are you going to tell you why you've been avoiding me?" he demanded. "I thought I was mistaken, but you've been giving me the cold shoulder. We're going to be married in June!"

"No, we're not," she replied softly. Umi stopped pacing and slipped the ring off her finger. She held it out for him to take.


	15. Breaking the Habit

**CHAPTER 15:  
****Breaking the Habit**

For several moments Scott looked back and forth from the ring in Umi's outstretched hand to her face. He was so shocked that he could not fix on any one expression; it was as if he couldn't decide which emotion to use first. Should he laugh like it was a big joke, or should he rage in anger? When a tear quietly slid down her face, he knew that this was no joke at all.

Scott looked at Umi's hand like it was going to bite him. "I don't want it!" he said in a voice that was deathly calm.

"Please, Scott. Take it," she said as tears started falling down her face.

"No," he said to her, his voice still not rising above a whisper.

"Please," she begged with a trembling voice.

He shook his head and backed away from her like he would a rattlesnake.

"I can't marry you. I just can't!"

Her words made him stop in his tracks. "Yes, you can! I love you, Umi."

"I know you do. That's why this is so hard!" She withdrew her hand and the ring guiltily as she spoke.

"God forbid it should be easy to break up with the man who loves you," he said with the first hint of his anger.

She looked at him like she had been wounded, so he tried to placate her. "It's probably just nerves, Umi. The wedding is getting closer, and the plans are crazy. I know my mother," he tried to smile as if it was a joke. "Plus there are all the pressures with the end of another school year."

"I… uh… That's not it." Umi wrung her hands and started to pace the area of the barn where she was standing, a gesture that she usually did when she was extremely emotional.

She took a deep breath and then made herself stop moving around. Displaying her visible agitation made her only think more of Clef and the times he had talked to her in Cephiro. Shoring up her bravery, Umi looked back at Scott and plunged forward without allowing him to interrupt her explanation.

"When we found Harry after my birthday, he didn't know who he was, but he reminded me of someone I used to know. Someone I loved very much and haven't stopped loving, Scott. I thought I could just forget and put those feelings away because I didn't think I would never meet him again. Then Harry showed up not knowing who he was. It's been ten years, but I would know him anywhere..."

The dark-haired man blinked several times not sure which issue to tackle first. "So this whole time you knew you Harry was? Don't you think that it's past time you share that little piece information? After all, _he_ still doesn't know who he is. Or does he? Maybe he was stalking you that night we met him on the road."

The look on Scott's face was suspicious, but Umi gave a mirthless laugh. "No, if he really is the man I think he is, he's not from anywhere around here. That's another reason why I've had trouble believing it could be him."

"But now you love him, don't you? You've fallen in love with him right under my nose!"

"I do _like_ Harry, but I still very much love the man he might be. I don't know for certain that they actually are the same person. I haven't lied to you to keep his identity secret."

His eyes narrowed in accusation. "But you knew or at least suspected something, and that's a whole lot more than the rest of us. A lie of omission is still a lie!"

"You wouldn't have believed me!" she shouted.

"You'll never know, will you? It's not as if you trusted me enough to tell me before it came to this. I will not give up, Umi. I asked you to marry me, and that does mean for better _or_ worse," he said as he wrinkled his nose in disgust at the current situation.

"I can't marry you," Umi said again. "My heart was never free to give to you, not like this. I thought I was free, but obviously I'm not."

"Why don't you love _me_?" he demanded with a sharp tone.

"I do love you," she said softly, looking at him with her ocean blue eyes, "but now I realize it's not enough."

He crossed his arms protectively over his chest and turned his back to her. "You know, I never did anything except treat you like a queen."

"I know that, too," she replied somberly.

A moment of silence filled the barn, and Scott tried one more plea. "Umi, don't throw us away!"

"That makes it sound like this decision was easy. It wasn't. Not at all," she said, giving him a sidelong glance.

"So what are you going to do now?" he said in an angry, hurtful tone. "Are you going to rush off to his arms and declare your undying love? We know how long _that_ lasts," he added sarcastically.

"No, I'm not going to do that, either," Umi said as she stood up straighter. There was another decision she had made when she finally got the will go break her engagement with Scott. "I'm going back to Japan."

Scott turned his head as if he had not heard her right. "Japan?"

"It's the best thing to do," she said logically. "If I stay here, things will just be awkward between us. I need to go back to my family and the friends who have known me longer than any others."

Templeton closed his eyes. "When will you go?"

"I've given copies of my letter of resignation to your parents. I don't know if they've read it yet, but I'll stay until the end of the school year."

"I want to hate you. I want to hate you so much," he said bitterly as he started to walk past her. "I don't, but I really don't like you very much right now."

Wordlessly, Umi offered the ring to him. He took it with his finger tips, holding her hand for a brief moment, though he didn't look her in the eye. A tear slid down his cheek as he broke their touch and walked out of the barn.

Though she had once been the Magic Knight of water, Umi barely survived the next day. She had to explain to Richard and Patricia that she was severing all ties with them both personally and professionally. The guilt piled on her shoulders exponentially, but she bravely faced the consequences of her decision. At the end of the day, she scrambled home to her bungalow to avoid others at all costs.

Her wish was not granted when after supper someone came knocking on her door. Umi looked out to see that it was Joan Carter waiting impatiently on her doorstep. Then with great embarrassment, she realized that she had forgotten the plans they had made earlier to finish up the Under the Sea theme for the high school dance.

"I'm so sorry," she said with a flaming blush as soon as she opened the door to Joan.

"Steve, Jessie, Scott and Harry were there to help finish up. Do you care to tell me what's going on?" Joan asked. "Jessie and Harry now seem uncomfortable around each other. Scott is shooting daggers at Harry every time his back is turned, and you just weren't there. You're not the kind of person to forget or shirk your duties. The only one who doesn't seem to be in a snit is Steve."

"Have a seat," Umi said as she indicated the sofa. "Do you want some tea?"

"I take it this is going to be a long explanation," Joan said as she sat down. Then she nodded for the tea as Umi shuffled off to get the tea tray ready.

When the younger woman came back, they shared a Japanese tea that was usually heartily enjoyed by the both of them. That enjoyment was dampened as both waited for Umi's explanation.

At last, she set down her tea cup and said in a very soft voice, "Scott and I are not getting married. I gave him back the ring yesterday. I've given the Templetons my resignation, and I'll be going back to Japan in June."

Joan looked sadly at the cup in her hand. "I'll miss you," she finally said.

"I'll miss everyone here, especially Scott," Umi said.

"Well, I still need you as a chaperone for the dance, even if you won't be going with Scott as a date." The teacher tried to make a light joke of it.

"I'll be there," she assured. "If there is anything I do know how to do, it's look like a sea princess."

"It won't be the same as a wedding dress," Joan said as she stood up to leave, "but I'm sure you'll look beautiful."

"Thank you," she replied as she softly closed the door behind her friend.

They had to wait over a week to actually have the dance, which was on the Friday of the following week. Umi wasn't sure why the place had to be decorated so far in advance, but Steve had said they were going to practice dancing. He thought being in the right element would help the students learn and remember something instead of the uncoordinated twitching seen in and real teen dances that weren't in a choreographed teen movie.

Meanwhile, Umi was keeping her mind on her work and finishing up any business matters that might have come up with her plans to return to Japan. She didn't talk about breaking the engagement, but she no longer had an engagement ring to wear. If someone actually asked her, she said she and Scott weren't getting married, but she did not elaborate further.

She especially did not give any more details about the fact that Harry looked like Clef. Scott had said she didn't give them an opportunity to understand the situation and who Clef was, but to her, everything was a done deal now without the need to be talking.

Avoiding Harry was the easiest part. She learned to do that before she broke the engagement to Scott. Once or twice she found herself staring at him in the cafeteria while she was thinking about Clef, but she stopped quickly when she realized that was what she was doing.

When Friday came, Umi got ready in her bungalow. She had found a dress to make her look like a mermaid with secret walking space under the tail, which was attached to her right wrist by an invisible wrist band. Her hair was fixed on top of her head with cascading pearls, small shells and glitter to give the shimmering impression of scales. Her makeup looked soft and luminous to finish the appearance of being a true underwater princess.

Umi quietly walked alone to the dance. The idea of a sea theme had been charming to her when it was first suggested, so she tried to enjoy it for fitting her magical element. The actual effect of the room did look magical, and she was happy for the teens to have a great dance.

In her role as chaperone, she did not dance at first because she was busy making sure that the students were behaving. She also was trying give Scott a wide berth because she was still dealing with her guilt about hurting him.

While Umi was busy supervising the children, she was unaware of one man watching her. He knew the moment she came inside the building, and he watched her hungrily as she stood alone near the door surveying the room. He watched her avoid Scott, and though he heard the whisper of rumors, he didn't know for sure if the couple had called it quits. When watching them in the same room, it seemed to be so.

Finally, Harry got his courage and walked over to the beautiful vision in blue. Umi looked radiant, and she captured him like the sirens in the old sea legends had captured sailors.

"Umi, would you like to dance?" he asked

"Harry!" she answered him with a sudden surprised smile that was breathtaking. "I'm a chaperone."

"Just because you're a chaperone doesn't mean you can't dance. That's why there are more than one person watching the kids."

"Okay," she agreed. She had to facet he fact that no matter who he actually was, she did want to touch him, and he had given her an opportunity that wouldn't come easily again.

Harry had asked her without thinking that he still walked with a cane. He could walk without it, of course, but he was wobbly when he did. He had forgotten about it when he gave in to his impulse to ask her to dance. His face fell uncertainly when he realized how this might go.

He gestured at his cane, so Umi took it from his hand and left it near the refreshment table. Umi glided back to him across the floor and Harry felt like he was the luckiest man in the world. Ignoring the looks of Scott and they others, he just thought of the woman who was with him. The dance was over much too soon and he had to let her go.

It was Umi who surprised him by saying, "I'd like to talk to you about something outside."

Finding his cane, they both walked together off the dance floor and out of the building so Umi could say to him whatever it was on her mind.

"I just wanted to tell you myself so you don't hear it from someone else. I'm leaving soon. I'm going back to Japan in about six weeks. I've given Scott back the ring."

"I'm sorry," he said and meant it. "But what does that have to do with me exactly?"

"I sincerely hope you get your memory back and learn who you are. You remind me of the man love, and maybe you're him. Maybe you're not." Umi reached forward to hold his face in both her hands and looked at him sadly.

"You are _so _beautiful, but every time I look at you I see him. I'm sorry." She leaned her forehead against his and let out a shuddering sigh.

"You're really leaving me, aren't you?" he said in a small voice, and then he shook his head in derision. "What am I saying? You were never mine. Not really."

They stepped away from each other, and Umi put her fingertips on his lips as she looked at him with finality. With a sigh, she turned to walk away.

Catching her by the wrist, the man known as Harry jerked her hard to him so that Umi twirled flush against his body like a dancer in one of the old movies. He reached with one arm around her back to hold her closer still, and he put his other hand at the nape of her neck to give her the kiss he'd been aching to give her for weeks.

Taken completely by surprise, Umi gave in to the kiss, feeling his lips on hers and the way he suckled her reverently without daring use his tongue. A whimper of both pleasure and pain escaped her when he parted from her. He clasped both her hands together in his, but did not say anything at all as he looked at her.

Harry then bowed his head once and walked away from Umi before she could be the one to walk away from him.


	16. The Return

**CHAPTER 16:  
****The Return**

Harry thrashed in his sleep. Whatever it was that was chasing him in his dream was going to catch up with him. His dream self jumped out of the way of the monster, and his real self rolled right off the bed and fell on the floor with a hard thud. He opened his bleary eyes and closed them again before falling back into a dark and disturbed sleep.

He wasn't aware of anything again until late the next morning. He heard the door of his room open, so he tried to open his eyes to see who was there. He blinked many times to try to clear away the fog, but it didn't work. All he could discern was a shadowy figure that would not come into focus.

"Harry?" a male voice full of concern asked.

He turned his head toward the sound. In that position on the floor, he looked to Steve Ford like a little puppy. This puppy even had shaggy unkempt hair.

Steve smiled at him before speaking. "You were late for your morning therapy session."

Ford bent down closer to the sometime magician who was sprawled on the hard wood floor. "Were you entertaining the ladies all night or something?" he joked when Harry still didn't answer.

"Headache," he supplied after much silence.

His eyes were still unfocused, but he lifted his head toward Steve, who put his hands on Harry's head with the gentleness of a parent caring for his child. If Ford could have given him back all his memories, he would have done it long ago. Instead, he could only offer his concern.

"I'm worried about you. Maybe we should take you to the doctor. How long have you been having these headaches?"

Harry sat up, the sheets pooling around his naked hips. He looked directly at his friend, seeing him clearly for the first time since he walked in the room, and answered, "On and off for about two weeks."

A surprised look quickly passed over Steve's face. "Harry," he said in reproach, "you have to take care of yourself!"

"No one else will," he replied in pitiful agreement. "I don't have any family."

"You don't know that. Or do you? Did you get some of your memories back?" Ford added with a hopeful tone.

"No," he said as he slowly stood up. The sheets fell completely away from him, but he felt no shame. His mind was occupied on things other than his exposed nudity, and he looked like a caged tiger pacing his cell. "Nothing makes any more sense to me than it did before. I am no closer to learning who I was. All I have is confusion."

Steve took his thought into consideration before asking, "What about the person you _are_? Do you know who he is?"

He smiled ruefully. "Sometimes."

"That's a start. Now you need to make sure there's nothing wrong with you." Steve put his hands up before Harry could make a wisecrack. "Physically. Mentally, you're beyond hope, but we're all a little crazy now and then."

That caused a smile to let them both know he was coming back to rights. Steve then bid his farewell to Harry who murmured his thanks to him for caring enough to stop by. They made a pact that he would attend the weight lifting workout with the guys in the afternoon as normal.

The talk of things on the ranch was the hiking and camping trip that would mark the end of the school year by being the last really fun thing they did before final exams. The dance had been a success, and that influenced many of the hopeful guy-girl pairings of the older children. Harry couldn't seem to avoid student couples, and the afternoon was no different.

He had gone to the workout with Steve and the high school boys, and that had gone without much incident. He did still have to fight some residual pain that felt like someone was chipping away a wall of stone in his head. He had tried regular pain medications, and they did not have any effect on his persistent headaches. Though Harry knew Steve was right about seeking medical help to find the cause of the headaches, he stubbornly refused to do it.

His head was mildly throbbing when Diana and Jada came over to the table where he was sitting with Derrick and Will. The girls squealed some greeting in unison as they talked to the boys, the sound doing nothing to help Harry's headache. Moving over to him without invitation, Diana started making small braids in his thick hair.

"Are you going to be one of the chaperones again?" she asked him. He had been a chaperone at the dance though he wasn't ranch staff, so he could do it again.

"I'm making plans to attend," he said with labored pauses. Though Diana had gentle hands, her hair fixing was only reminding him of the earlier headache and the throbbing that was in his head at the moment.

"You have to come!" she exclaimed with a jerk at the end of one of the braids that made him wince. "You helped me, and it wouldn't be right without you there."

"I wouldn't miss it, dear heart," he said, covering her hand softly to stop her and offering a real smile. He lightly flicked her decorated earlobes in remembrance of shared experience. When Diana smiled back, she glowed brightly in happiness. The moment over, everyone started talking at once about plans for the camping trip.

The whole scene was one of fun and amusement, and that's what Umi saw when she walked passed the table where they were. She thought to herself how cute Harry looked with the little braids in his hair, how Clef-like. It was that thought, though, that made her walk faster away from them. She could think of Clef again when she was in Japan. The most important thing was to finish the school year.

She, too, was going on the camping trip with the kids. There was one thing to have a dance, but it was something else to go foraging away from regular conveniences for a weekend. They would need help in hiking to the camp, setting it up, and then doing several fun activities. As long as the trip wasn't in the Forest of Silence, she would be fine with it all.

Over a week later, Harry stood in the bathroom holding on the sink basin as for dear life. He felt like he was going to throw up again, and he squeezed the porcelain so hard his knuckles where white. His skin felt pale and clammy, and he knew he didn't look at all presentable to be going on a camping trip with the kids.

The rational part of him thought he was insane for even electing to go. They had enough adults, so it's not as though he was required to do it. He didn't want to disappoint the kids he'd grown to care about, though. It wasn't just for the kids, but it was also one last chance to spend time with Umi. She avoided him lately, and what reason did they have to be together? It was almost better this way except his heart still ached for her presence.

"Harry, are you coming?" Jessie shouted at him through the bathroom door.

"I'll be right there," he answered. "I just have to wash my face."

"Well hurry up!" she taunted. "You're worse than a teenaged girl!"

While he did try to wash his face and make himself appear normal in the others' eyes, Jessie walked back to the group shaking her head. Their last real moment together was the chat after their failed date, and she still felt embarrassed about the date itself so many weeks later. She tried to let things go, but he made it difficult just by being still being there.

"Maybe when he gets his memory back, he'll be one big jerk," she said to console herself.

"What was that?" Steve asked with a curious smile.

She put her hands on her hips about to give an answer, but she stopped almost every time she started. "Nothing," she finally said. "Pretty boy's washing his face."

When Harry finally hobbled out to the group, Steve gave a final go-over of the instructions. They were to hike with their camping gear on their back until they got to their campsite. The trip would take about four hours, and they would take short breaks every hour. Once at the camp, they all had to help with setting up tents and the cookery before doing any other fun planned activities.

The group moved out with adults placed in parts along the way around the students. Steve as leader was wandering energetically over all parts of the group to motivate and check things, while Jessie and Joan were monitoring the middle of the student hikers. Harry walked at the rear of the group. His gear was evenly balanced so as not to feel like a strain on him, but he took extra care with his movement in case he needed it.

Umi, on the other hand, was at the forefront of the group and trying not to engage Scott who was up there with her in conversation. It's what people with each other did on hikes, but she wasn't in the mood. Lately she felt embarrassed and uncomfortable around the man because of breaking the engagement. The friendship felt to her to be irreparable, and being around him saddened her even more.

When the students walked, at first they talked excitedly with each other about the trip. It was a chatter that reminded Harry of the buzzing of bees. He started to sweat slightly though the day was not very hot. He passed that from his mind as something of no consequence because it was normal for physical effort to make someone sweat, and no matter how much improvement he had made with his leg, which was quite a lot of improvement, he still wasn't completely healed.

When the group made it to the first check point, the kids didn't want to stop. Steve insisted, though, telling them they would appreciate it later. Then he said to double check all gear to make sure it was still holding right. When the adult chaperones and students were doing as he asked, he checked on everyone, including Harry.

"You look pale," he said upon seeing his friend.

Harry blinked. "I'm always pale. Don't worry about me."

Steve gave him a knowing look, but let the subject drop as is befitting of men. Instead, he told the group it was time to move out again, and he sang some military style chants for them to join in as they went along their way.

In the next hour, Harry continued to sweat. It was coming much more, but again it didn't register with him as they were moving up the mountain and into thinner air. The sound of the group seemed to become dimmer in his ears, too, and he could hear more of the thrumming of blood in his veins. It was so gradual that with the other impairments, he almost didn't notice it.

He looked up to the summit where they would set camp, only two and a half hours of walking away, and he blinked his eyes. He might be getting very light-headed because he imagined a floating mountain over them. _Mountains don't float in the sky_, his rational mind insisted.

As he walked on, he saw flashes of a pretty face, a little girl with long blonde hair. She was all loveliness wrapped into one being, and he knew he would do anything for her. Harry shook his head at that thought, and looked around again. She was not there, and much too young to be one of the high school students from the ranch. None of the younger children were allowed on this trip.

At their next break, he sat down and cringed. His headache was returning in full force, and he could feel it. He didn't want to turn back, so he decided he'd do what he had been doing for the past weeks and just tough it out again. It made him feel obstinate and secretive not to tell his friends, but it was probably a part of who he always had been even before the amnesia.

Ahead of him, unaware of Harry's plight, Umi was reflecting upon her time in Cephiro. She had a habit of entering worlds and leaving. She'd done it twice in Cephiro, and now in America. She wanted to be somewhere and not feel so transient in it, so she would go home to Japan. Umi hated the guarded feeling that came over her, but she was going home to lick her wounds.

With the camp site still over an hour away, the flood of images in Harry's mind started to change drastically. His head feel like it was literally split, and he felt warmth spread over him with a spike in his temperature that reminded him of uncontrollable hallucinations he once had when he was sick with fever.

In his vision haze he saw a tall man with hair as black as night in long robes, and he was certain this man was important to him, too. The ghost of the blonde girl appeared beside him again, and their faces were shrouded in infinite sadness. Uncomfortable to see him, he looked at his hands, noticing how they shifted in and out of focus. He had both his adult hands that he knew so well and hands with short stubby fingers, the size of a child.

Then Harry saw a vision of Umi, and he knew everything was wrong, so terribly wrong. She was younger then and dressed in armor as if she was going into battle. Friends such as Hikaru and Fuu and foes gathered around her, and she fought with strength and courage. He realized he knew the redhead and blonde from before, and not just because he heard the Water Knight talk of them since he'd known her after his accident.

He knew Umi, and it felt as if he had always known her. When they'd met here, she said he reminded her of a friend she used to know. With unfailing certainty, he _was_ that friend. He staggered in the realization. It was so that when Steve called for the last break, he was so much into his vision of Umi and others he knew that he didn't stop. He stumbled ahead and kept walking, oblivious to the calls from others around him.

The raging headaches and pain were no obstacle as he had to know, and he felt by continuing to press on to see his vision through, he would know the answer. The people in his head began to have names and speak to him. The name pounding on his head over and over was "Clef." It was disconcerting to hear from all these different phantoms, but as strange as it was to him, he realized that was his own name from the time before.

With his true name came all the bad memories behind it. With tears and sweat mingling on his face he struggled blindly. He remembered the deaths of Zagato and Emeraude, how senseless they were. Then he remembered the near-destruction of all of Cephiro when the kingdom crumbled away. He remembered the girls, the Magic Knights, and their sacrifices, and how they all left them. Umi, the impudent and aggravating one he had grown to love above the other two, had left him alone in a restored Cephiro that somehow didn't feel as wonderful without her to enjoy it with him.

With the flood of memories both good and bad overtaking him, Clef fell to his knees and rolled awkwardly to the ground, hampered by the weight of his backpack. Upon seeing him fall, the others ran to him, but before they could get there, he struggled out of his pack's shoulder straps. He then curled up in fetal position and gave a long keening wail like he had been a wounded animal.

"Harry?" Steve asked, approaching his friend with the utmost of caution.

By that time, the man who was once the greatest mage in all of Cephiro was surrounded by the curious eyes of adults and children. Umi pushed the others to get to the front of the circle to see what happened to him.

"No, no," he cried out, putting his hands over his ears and pulling his head to his chest. The wailing sounds of true pain continued, much to everyone's discomfort. No one had a clue what was wrong or how to help him.

Umi moved to him, despite the anguish in his sounds. Touching him with the gentlest fingers, she stroked his hair for a very long time until his cries started to subside. As she reached again to stroke him tenderly, he captured her hand and looked up into her eyes while his own face was a mask of misery.

"You left me," he declared in raw accusation. The look in his blue eyes as he studied her was different than Umi had seen from him while he had been staying at the ranch. He looked absolutely old and weathered.

"Clef," she said with a gasp, and she knew it was true. The mage's memory had returned to him.


	17. Our Breaths We Do Hold

**Dedication**: To the readers. Every single one of you. It's been amazing how you've all embraced my little story. I'm sorry it's taken me so long to update.  
**A/N**: I plan on participating in 2009 NaNoWriMo, so as a warm-up, I am going to try to finish this. There's only a little bit left.

* * *

**CHAPTER 17:  
Our Breaths We Do Hold**

Patricia had stayed behind at the ranch instead of going camping. It was the prudent thing to do so that there would be staff behind in case of emergency. She hadn't expected the one that happened to her next.

She was working in her office with her favorite classical music channel playing softly in the background as she caught up on the end of year work. When the phone rang, the sudden sound jolted her in her chair. The coffee she'd been sipping nearly sloshed on her silk blouse.

"Hello," she said breathlessly while patting down her chest with a napkin.

"Thank goodness you were by the phone!" a panicked voice rushed out. "I need you to get up here right away with the van. We have to take Harry to the hospital."

"What's wrong?" she jumped in urgently. Steve's voice on the other end of the line made her apprehensive in a way she hadn't felt in a while.

"He… well, he appears to have his memory back. But it's more than that. He seems sick."

"Right," she said as she mentally switched into action mode. "I'll call ahead to the hospital to make sure the doctor is paged. Are you on the normal trail?"

"Yes. Nearly to the top, actually."

"I'll see you as soon as I can," she said before hanging up, grabbing her purse and running out the door to get one of the ranch's vehicles.

* * *

The stunned looks on the students' faces were not something any of the adult staff were used to seeing. The murmurs abounded, but they were quiet behind Umi's cries.

"Clef," she repeated while stroking his wild lavender hair. Tears dampened her cheeks as she waited there beside him on the ground.

"Okay," Steve announced loudly to the gathered crowd. "Patricia is on her way, and we'll be off to the hospital. The rest of you need to get up to the summit if you're going to have this camping weekend."

"But what about him?" asked Will with concern.

"We'll take care of it," Ford placated his student, "but you earned this and should go up and enjoy your camping. You deserve it. You _all_ do."

Will muttered, "I don't know how much I'm going to enjoy it…" only to be cut off by Clef himself speaking again for the first time since his outburst at his flood of memories.

"Go," he rasped with finality. No one here or in Cephiro would have argued with the mage when he took that tone of voice.

A few of the students hesitated, and Jessie jumped in to take charge. She barked out orders and then said as much for herself as well as for the others, "We'd better see you when we get back, or there'll be hell to pay."

Though he was still on the ground, his eyes looked to hers and held her gaze for a long time. It was the only promise he could make, and it was no promise at all.

She blew her whistle, and the parade of campers went back into motion leaving Umi behind with Steve and Clef.

A long awkward silence passed before Ford asked Clef, "Are you comfortable?"

"No," he replied, "but I don't think it can be helped." He closed his eyes against the pain while Umi continued to stroke his hair as she would that of a small child awaiting the night's sleep.

The Water Knight was keeping her secrets to herself, though she had so many questions she wanted to ask him. Firstly, she wanted to know how he'd gotten here! It was no doing of Hikaru's. Umi had seen to that fact right away. It was mystery, though not one as great as the riddle of his feelings for her.

The voice of Steve Ford gently saying her name interrupted her wandering thoughts. He looked at her curiously as if unable to form a basic question about everything that had happened.

"I knew him," she blurted. "I wasn't sure it was him, but it really was."

Sighing, he replied, "Yes, but if you knew him, why weren't you certain?"

She shook her head ruefully. "I was a child, and he looked like one." It wasn't a lie. She was safe so far. Continuing, she added, "People change so much, and it was so far away that I could not be sure if he was who I thought he might have been. As you can see, the past few months, he wasn't able to answer himself even if he'd wanted."

The teacher nodded at the sense of it. He then eyed his watch and his friend, hoping that the other man would be okay. He and Umi were only witnessing Clef's silence and the occasional odd stretching of his fingers as if he were practicing sleight of hand flourishes.

They might as well try to get as comfortable as possible because even in an automobile, it was going to take Patricia a while to get there.

* * *

"What do you think will happen to him?" Derrick asked Will as they hiked to the camp.

"He'll go to the hospital," he answered pragmatically, trying to control his own worries after his questions in front of the group.

"No, I mean… will he go back home? Where is home for him? Do you think… Do you think he'll still remember us?"

His uncertainty spilled out quickly, and he was embarrassed at such an outburst. It didn't go well with his tough guy image that he had been trying to cultivate. Derrick knew too well about people he cared for leaving him. If Harry-Clef left, it certainly wouldn't be the first person in his life who left him without a word.

"Won't miss him anyway," he muttered as a defense.

"Nah, me, neither," Will replied while he did one of the easy tricks Harry had taught him. Then he sighed at the lie and concentrated on the hike to the site. The teachers said they only had a mile left until they got where they were going.

* * *

When Patricia finally arrived with the ranch's van, she saw Clef sitting up not looking as sick as he had been when he first walked up the hill. But his stillness was scarier than anything she'd ever seen from him in the short time that she had known him. If he had not taken the time to blink, she might have thought him a pale marble statue.

"How are you feeling?" she asked him softly.

Clef looked up at her wryly. "I've had better days."

Nodding she asked him in a whisper, "So what's your name?"

"Clef," he answered and inclined his head like an ancient knight saluting his lady.

"Can you walk?" she asked louder, including Umi and Steve in the conversation.

Jumping to his feet, Ford said, "I'll help you."

"Me, too," Umi replied holding his other side and walking him to the front passenger seat in the van.

"Mrs. Templeton," she said once he was seated, "I'd like to go with you."

"No," Clef told her firmly before Patricia could reply. "Stay here."

"Why?" Umi demanded. "I am the only one who knows you. I've always known you. You need me!"

He dared look at her eyes, a shy fleeting glance. "I… I can't."

Her own eyes narrowed as she looked at him with disgust. The stance she took was reminiscent of one of her fencing poses because she was going in for the attack.

"You yelled at me in front of everyone for having left you, and now you're going to tell me to stay? Men are so stupid!" she growled with clenched fists.

Steve tried to put his hand on her shoulder. "Come on, Umi. Patricia can take it from here, and the orderlies can help her with him in the hospital if she needs it."

She shook his hand off angrily. "No, I need to go with him! Don't you understand?"

"I will come back," Clef breathed with a pained expression. He then turned his face away from Umi and Steve as he fastened his seat-belt.

Patricia gave the pair and apologetic look before starting the ignition and leaving. They watched the van go, and while the dust was still flying from the tires, Umi let out a frustrated cry like a cat yowling in pain.

* * *

Patricia and Clef drove to the hospital with only the soft sounds of her favorite channel playing quietly on the radio. The sounds of it were almost drowned by the sounds of the wheels on the gravel. Once they started on the highway to the city, Clef finally spoke up.

"I loved her," he said sounding surprised.

"I know that now," Patricia finally answered.

She was a good counselor, very professional at her work, but he looked at her as the mother of Scott Templeton. "I didn't mean to hurt him, you know. I'm sorry."

Nodding, she acknowledged that she'd heard what he said. It was not clear to him if she'd accepted his apology, but it was really Scott he needed to tell anyway.

"So you know who you are..." she began, hoping he'd take the opportunity to fill in the blanks.

"And I still don't have any idea how I got here," he said while holding his body in an almost grave-like position. "I was at home. And then I wasn't."

"You make it sound like one of the transporter accidents from Star Trek."

He laughed at the thought. "No, not that, but it's as good of an explanation as anything."

Clef thought better of mentioning the likely magical nature of his sudden appearance in March because he'd been on Umi's world enough to know that they didn't believe in real magic. Tricks were enjoyed and relished, but the world shifting power he'd had back in Cephiro would have caused fear in the hearts of many Earthlings.

As he flexed his fingers, he knew that he no longer possessed that same magic here. There wasn't a spark of it within him, and that frightened him more than anything he'd ever known, including having been through a few months of amnesia. No wonder the girls hadn't known a thing of magic when they'd come to his world.

"Clef," Patricia finally asked, the curiosity getting the better of her, "Why did you tell her to stay with the campers? The rest of the team could have made it work without her."

"It's too much for me right now," he said as he turned his blue eyes on her. "All these memories rushing back feels like drowning." _And I don't want to show her my weaknesses_, he added mentally to himself, remembering a different time in Cephiro where he'd not let her come to his rooms when he'd been put to bed rest.

Patricia took her right hand off the steering wheel and patted him reassuringly on the leg. The rest of the trip to the hospital was made in silence accompanied by the sounds from the classical radio station fading in and out.

* * *

Moving faster as a pair than they would have in the group, Umi and Steve made it to the camp just after the tents where pitched and the fires were first lit. There was plenty of time to help with the night time cooking chores and other duties related to making the camping go smoothly.

A few of the students and adults asked questions of Clef, and the few known details were shared. Umi tried to busy herself so as not to think about the situation. She ruefully remembered how it was no different than how she'd paced all over the palace in Cephiro when she'd been so worried before, but that realization didn't stop her from doing it.

Quite softly, Scott came up behind her and cleared his throat before putting his hand on her shoulder in comfort. Turning quickly, she went into his open arms and after a few moments began to cry, drenching his cotton shirt in her hot tears. Meanwhile, Scott held her with the infinite patience that he had often shown with the injured animals in his care.

Umi continued to cry, letting flow some of the aches and mental pain that she had been holding inside her for the few months that the stranger they'd all called Harry had been part of their lives. When she thought of her confusion about whether or not he had been Clef, she bawled even harder. There was something about the whole situation that made her insides scream that it was just not fair. The whole world wasn't fair.

"I know I should have told you sooner…" came the first muffled words when she'd gotten control of herself. In Cephiro, she'd been in much worse situations than this. She had been the Water Knight and was made of much stronger stuff than most people in the world. Ryuuzaki Umi would not let this break her.

Backing away from Scott, she tried again. "I didn't know what to say or if I'd only been imagining things."

He gave her his bandana for a handkerchief. After she wiped her eyes, he encouraged her to continue talking. His green eyes looked to her with such a sweet kindness, she almost couldn't do it.

"Scott, when I saw him at the hospital, he did look familiar to me. I just couldn't be sure because it had been many years ago since I saw him. I dropped hints to ask him, but nothing seemed to work."

He smiled wryly at her. "He's a guy who had amnesia, Umi. Men are dense even during the best of times. Maybe your hints were a little too subtle for him."

With an odd sound that was a hybrid between a hiccup and a laugh, she agreed, "Maybe you're right."

"Is there more?" he asked shrewdly.

After a pause, she admitted, "Yes. I loved him from the bottom of my heart. I loved him, and he never knew because I never told him."

His eyes clouded over in understanding. "We never forget our first love."

Like the water element she once controlled, expressions flowed across her face. Eventually she looked at him with a guilt-ridden expression. "You're absolutely wonderful, you know."

"I know. And yet that's not enough to keep you," he said softly, resigned to his Umi-less fate. "Not enough to stay with me and be mine."

She sighed and walked away into the woods to gather sticks for kindling and to continue being alone with her thoughts.


	18. Ch Ch Changes

**CHAPTER 18:  
Ch-ch-changes**

"How old are you?" The doctor had been asking him basic questions more to check Clef's concentration than with any real concern for the answer.

"Nine hund..." he started honestly.

The doctor laughed dismissively. "More like twenty-nine by the looks of you. Look up."

He took out a pen light and shined it in Clef's eyes to check for any signs of head trauma showing in his eyes. Then the doctor instructed him to visually follow his index finger as he waived it in front of his face.

"How do you feel right now?"

"Tired in all ways possible," he admitted.

The doctor nodded. "It's a momentous thing to recover from amnesia. So you're certain you know who you are then?"

"Yes," Clef answered evasively, not yet ready to reveal all his secrets.

"Then the medical advice I prescribe to you is rest and lots of it. Contact any loved ones who may be out there any worrying about you! Three months is a long time to be missing someone. On the positive side, your leg looks great. You've got strong bones."

"It's all the calcium I get at the ranch. I've never had so much cows' milk," Clef commented, wondering why he'd never thought about it before. No, milk wasn't part of his regular diet in Cephiro, but for the school children it was essential.

"You're free to go," the doctor concluded before showing him out of the examining room.

Clef entered the waiting room where Patricia was reading a months-old copy of _Ladies Home Journal_. She saw him, nodded in understanding, and stood to leave.

"Thank you," Clef called out to the doctor's retreating back.

* * *

The rest of the weekend came and went with quiet solitude. Clef got his alone time that he'd been seeking, and he could certainly have been able to rest had his mind not been making endless circles of thought.

The first thing he knew was that he was not magical at all. Oh, yes, he realized that in the van on the way to the hospital, but the revelation continued to sink in and reveal itself to him in all its hideous glory.

He didn't know how to be who he was without magic. It had been like breathing for him all his life, and that life had been a long one, indeed. Maybe he did look as old as twenty-nine now, but he most certainly wasn't. In this new human body, he was not yet four months old! At home in Cephiro, he was ancient, and he liked it that way. A wizened mage was afforded some respect that no young pup could ever have.

So who was he if he wasn't Mage Clef? Yes, he was still Clef, and that included Harry memories of a world Clef had never known nor really understood. He was in deep mental pain, he realized. His definition of self was completely gone, and he wasn't sure what to do in this world.

Was going back to Cephiro even an option for him? In this world only the Pillar had the power to do that. He'd have to find a way to talk to Hikaru. He'd have to ask Umi, but did he really have any reason to go back there? The land didn't need him anymore. People lived, and flowers grew. Magic remained, and other teachers found students.

He had only a limited time to decide what he was going to do. Umi was leaving soon to Japan, and he was not going to overstay his welcome with the Templeton family. They had helped him enough.

He sighed and thrashed in bed like a petulant child, but even that didn't bring him any true comfort. He turned his gaze and looked at his little betta fish Fyula swimming in his dish. It really had been such a kind gesture for Umi to give it to him.

He remembered how adorable she looked that day with the tendrils from her braid falling around her face and nearly all of her sprinkled with flour. Thinking of that moment was yet another indication that he cared about the Water Knight and always had. That basic desire for her, the same to him as having a heartbeat, so utterly and completely intrinsic, had always been there even in a new situation where he was an amnesiac called Harry.

Yes, he'd have to speak to her. The thought terrified him because there was absolutely no hiding any more. Then he remembered one more thing, one bright and shining glorious thing. She loved him.

She'd said as much when she'd hinted to him that she thought she knew who he was. Umi had loved him then in Cephiro despite the rocky starts, and she seemed to like who he was when he was Harry. He hadn't thought of that right away because he was too stuck in his pain to notice. It would take a while for him to come to terms with being so... mundane. His mouth twisted as if the mere thought of the word was distasteful.

The thought of her love gave him hope. Perhaps he could live in this world yet.

* * *

Several days later, Steve Ford was knocking on his door as if he were trying to splinter the wood into a thousand tiny toothpicks. "Let me in now, or I swear I'll get a battering ram and knock this off its hinges!"

Feeling perverse, Clef went to the door and pulled it open just a crack, letting just a blue eye and a lock of his wild hair be seen. "You could have just said, 'Please.'"

Steve swore under his breath and pushed the door open the rest of the way to let himself into Clef's room. It was decorated basically the same way it had been when he took up residence here back in March. It still had the austere Swedish look to it like it could have been an IKEA demonstration room. The personal touches besides Fyula swimming in his bowl were random gifts from the students and some of his magic trappings. There was, of course, the stack of books Joan had gotten him from the library as if he'd had the intentions of a medieval scholar.

Despite the fact that he looked the same as his friend Harry, Clef was different. His eyes were shrouded with secrets and warnings for things he would never share.

"Why have you been avoiding us? We're your friends. We want to help you." Steve demanded.

Clef smirked. "You don't mince words, do you? Always to the point."

"Since when have you had a problem with that?"

"Didn't say I did," he answered argumentatively.

After waging a miniature staring war with him, Steve asked, "Where did you go?"

Clef crossed his defensively arms in front of his chest. He had the fleeting thought that his body still surprised him. He'd been like a child so long, that it was strange, and even wonderful at times, to be a man. It's possible his choice he had made at the time long ago wasn't the right one, but the fact now was moot. He was an adult, and there was no changing on that.

"Just now? The bathroom. I didn't realize I needed to clear my 'movements' with you."

"You really are a jerk sometimes, you know that?" Steve retorted. "And I meant it metaphysically, I guess. Harry, the friend I knew, disappeared. I don't see how you can be such vastly different people. It's beyond my thinking that you could just change your basic character even if you didn't remember who you were!"

"I'm still the same man," he spoke as he reached for his camera, which he had also because of Joan. Then Clef announced, "Come on. Let's walk. You can do all your yelling at me outside."

* * *

The former mage didn't say anything as he walked. Instead, he looked at the sky, so blue. It was like the skies of Cephiro, or the calming blue water aura of Umi's hair. He would have to face her eventually, he reminded himself. He should bite the bullet and do it sooner rather than later, his pragmatic self told him.

Focusing the camera, Clef took a picture of the landscape at the outskirts of the main campus. He realized as he took the photographs that he was happy here and had been happier as Harry than he had in a long time. It wasn't that being Harry was easy. Instead, it was that he had a group of friends who seemed to truly care. He'd had that before, and one of those times was when Umi had been in Cephiro.

Interrupting the reverie, Steve commented, "We missed you. Yes, of course we're happy you have your memory back, but we would have rather had you camping with us."

A wash of thoughts came to him, but he responded with a simple, "I'm sorry."

"I think Derrick and Will missed you the most, not that either one of them would admit it. Will is going to graduate, by the way. In fact, Umi is going to bake some cakes for the graduates as part of the end of year party. No one can resist one of her cakes."

That elicited a chuckle. He'd only had one of her cakes when he first arrived, but the delicious reputation was well-deserved.

"So let's cut to the chase. Do you want to tell me who you are?" Steve queried.

"I don't know," Clef admitted with an exhale of breath.

Ford stopped walking in his tracks and stared incredulously at him. "What a minute! I thought you got your memory back!"

"I did. But," he clarified as he faced his friend, "I don't know what my purpose in life is any more. I can't go home, and I don't know how to be anything other than what I was."

The surprise knit on Ford's brow. "Were you kicked out? Were you a criminal? I still don't understand what happened to you."

A rueful laughed followed escaped his lips. "I don't, either! Honestly. I was home tending my garden in the mid-afternoon. The next thing I knew, I was on a dark road in the middle of the night being run over by a metallic vehicle I had never seen before!"

Steve tried to figure him out. "There's something you're not telling me."

"There are lots of things I'm not telling you," he confirmed with a smirk.

"Don't you trust me?" he asked.

"You're my friend," was the answer, though it didn't directly answer the question.

"Fine. Fine. In your own time. I see how this is going to go," Steve said. "I'm not going to ask you any more, but if you want me, you do know where to find me. One last thing, though, Clef. Will you be at Will's graduation party? It would mean a lot to him, especially since you weren't part of the camping trip."

Adding pointedly, he said, "Not to beat a dead horse here, but this is a kid we're talking about. Don't let him down."

"I'll be there," he agreed and then surprised Steve by suddenly taking his photo. "For remembrance," Clef explained.

* * *

When more time had passed, he found himself pacing the yard in front of Umi's bungalow trying to get the courage to knock on the door. It hadn't been this difficult before, he complained to himself. Berating his inner monologues, which were too noisy lately anyway, Clef gave three succinct knocks on the door.

She must have opened the door without looking through the peep hole. When she saw him, she gasped in surprise. "Hello," she fumbled.

Dropping his head in respect and then giving a slight bow from the waist, he requested, "May I please come in?"

She stared dumbly at him, shocked to see him at her doorstep. In her fit of anger after he told her to stay away, she'd stayed far away as possible. She was still angry, and she felt like holding a grudge more than being kind-hearted. It had been _days_ since he'd gotten his memory, and he hadn't spoken to her!

"Please," he asked again.

Giving him the evil eye, she opened so he could pass into her inner sanctum. When he got there, he saw that she was in the midst of packing. "Oh, you're going back to Japan," he stated obviously to himself.

"Soon," she conferred. "With nothing here left to stay for, I figured I should go as soon as possible."

He winced as he heard the censorious bite in her tone. "Thank you for all you did for me," he said quietly with his back turned to her. He appeared to be busily examining the figurines still on the mantelpiece, but he was only interested enough to observe that they didn't seem like her style at all.

"You're welcome," she replied neutrally. Never let it be said that she had no manners. Umi was kind even to her supposed enemies, as the princesses of Chizeta knew.

"I shouldn't waste your time," he apologized. In a bewildered tone, he asked, "Umi, how did I get here? To Earth. To… you."

"I thought you knew," she admitted with worry troubling her brow. She went into the kitchen to start tea as an aid to thinking.

"I promise you. I did nothing to get here. At least, nothing of which I'm aware," he added after she gave him a disbelieving look. "Have you talked to Hikaru about this?"

"Yes," she said as she prepared to settings for tea. "I did that weeks ago, and she doesn't know. Could it be another invasion? Is there a master mage stronger than you trying to take over the land?"

His mirthless laugh rumbled through his chest. "If only it were so. At least that would be interesting. Cephiro is a beautiful place, and life has gone on without you girls. I was starting to think it had gone on without me, too. Oh, I was needed at first and important to the rebuilding of our world and those of our friends. But it seems they don't need me any more."

"So you don't have anyone or anything waiting at home for you," she concluded.

"No," he said, walking slowly forward to take her hand. "But maybe I still have something here of value."

She glanced down at tips of her fingers held so carefully in his. Could she finally believe him and end the pretenses between them? They'd come so close before and still failed. She looked up to see his blue eyes watching hers, matching color for color as if the insides of their beings were the same.

Before Umi could open her mouth to speak, her cell phone rang, breaking the intimacy of the moment. "It's Hikaru," she breathed in complete surprise as she looked at the display.

Reverting to Japanese, she greeted her friend and was silenced yet again by the statement the former Magic Knight made. "Fuu is with me. We're in the airport on a layover, but we'll be there to see you in a matter of hours."

She dropped the phone from her hand as the tea kettle began to whistle.


	19. Magic Knights Reunited

**CHAPTER 19  
Magic Knights Reunited**

Scott picked up the chattering girls from the airport. They seemed to be having an excellent time with each other and really enjoying the countryside they saw outside their windows. He acted as a tour guide and told them a few interesting things here and there as they drove so they would feel comfortable.

"It will be so wonderful to see Miss Umi!" Fuu said with a smile, her eyes shining brightly behind her glasses.

Hikaru agreed, pointing out that, "It's been years!"

"So you all really are best friends, aren't you?" he asked.

"Yes," Fuu answered. "I would trust them both with my life." She didn't add that she actually had trusted them with her life when they were Magic Knights in Cephiro.

"That's a true friend," Scott said with eyebrows raised in surprise.

"I'm sorry you're not getting married, Mr. Scott," Fuu said sympathetically. "But I thank you for having us as your guests."

He shook his head as if trying to clear his memory of the engagement. "She will be happy to see you, and right now that's the most important thing."

Hikaru placed her tiny hand over his. "You really love her, don't you?"

"I always will," Scott admitted.

The drive was less personal the rest of the way back to the ranch. Instead, they discussed traveling, favorite foods, and movies they'd seen recently. It was a nice hodge-podge of things so he could get to know the girls. He decided that he rather liked them and started to understand why Umi considered them her best friends.

A few miles away from the gate, Scott got an idea from something they'd casually said of their travels and friendship. He asked, "So do you also know Clef?"

"We do," Hikaru said as she exchanged significant looks with Fuu.

He wanted to know so much about the man who had his love's heart. He didn't know where to start asking. He didn't hate Clef. He was only sorry that he had gotten to Umi first. Speaking politely, Scott added, "It will be a nice reunion for you all."

Once inside the gate, the two women looked around to see the buildings on the modest compound. There were several free-standing classrooms and various living quarters. At one time, it may have been a real ranch. There was a certain western charm to it.

Scott parked the van as close in front of Umi's bungalow as he could get. With a gesture he indicated, "It's that one. Go on. I'm sure she's waiting for you. I'll bring your bags."

"Thank you!" Hikaru called over her shoulder as she and Fuu scrambled out of the van.

They bounded over to the door and both started rapping upon it as if part of a drum circle. The girls giggled and played more intricate rhythms as they waited for Umi to answer.

An older woman walked over to them with wide smile on her face. "Greetings! I'm Joan. Umi isn't there. She's in the kitchens right now. We had a last minute emergency because some of the ingredients for our party are missing. She's making a shopping list and thought she could be done before you'd arrived."

"Oh," Fuu replied with disappointment. "Well, Miss Hikaru, we've already waited this long. A few more minutes won't matter."

"Would you like to follow me?" Joan asked, gesturing her hand to the building with the kitchens and Clef's small room.

Nodding in assent, the visitors followed her while behind them Scott finished putting their bags on Umi's doorstep.

* * *

In the kitchen, there was complete chaos, as to be expected in this situation. A few of the students had gotten into the refrigerator and used the eggs to play some pranks. With other random misdeeds, there was not enough supplies for the graduation party.

Umi looked around at the mess feeling at wit's end. It's not that they couldn't go get more supplies. It was just the thoughtlessness of the students and inconvenience of timing. Clef was near her, lurking quietly, directing human traffic when he could. She appreciated that commanding presence he still used when necessary. The leader in him would never go away no matter what he was doing.

She gazed upon him, remembering his Cephiro self and comparing him to his new Earth self. In his unguarded moment of talking to one of the students, he was beautiful, but in a way unlike before. His eyes were still blue and wise, as if he could tell any lie or half-truth you might try to pass by him. The students were getting the benefit of it as he quizzed them on the specifics of their mischief. His hair had always been in disarray, but it was still thick and shining, a sparkling platinum halo around his head. And his mouth... well, his lips were full and begging to be kissed. It was like a succulent ripe fruit ready to be tasted according to the writings of romance novels.

Umi touched her mouth as she remembered the brief, soul-burning kiss they'd shared at the dance. He thought himself Harry then, and yet he'd kissed her so passionately. Oh, it was a wonder how he might kiss her in full possession of all his memories and feelings toward her! The mental image made her blush, and she was very happy that he could not read her mind.

She saw, too, his body as that of a grown man. He wasn't large or bulky, but he was strong and graceful, like a dancer. When Harry had performed for the children his show was magical entertainment, he moved with the performing skill that made him appear to dance fluidly from pose to pose. He was simply enthralling.

She smiled secretly to herself and looked down so her bangs could cover her face. It was only the quiet presence of two warm bodies on each side of her that made her lift her head up. To her right was Hikaru, long hair still worn in a braid down the length of her back. Fuu was on her left, staring her in the eyes and looking as if she were going to burst from the excitement.

They dared to test how long the bubbling quiet could go before all broke loose. It was Fuu who gave in and shouted, "Miss Umi!"

Throwing her arms around her friend, she gave a tight embrace as if to hug away all the years they'd not been together. Behind them, Hikaru joined in the squeezing until Umi felt like she was the meat inside a Magic Knight sandwich.

"Okay, okay. You can let me go!" she said in mock irritation. The smile on her face was huge as she held Hikaru's hand.

Joan, who had brought the friends to the kitchens, cleared her throat softly to get attention. "Once you ladies are settled in, I would like to invite you to tea."

"Yes, please!" and "Thank you," stated the two new guests at once.

When Umi had been surreptitiously watching Clef, he had been talking to the teenaged students. When Fuu and Hikaru had entered, he straightened up his posture and stared at them in mute disbelief. Even though he knew they were coming, seeing them standing before him made him almost not trust his eyes. They were women, still so lovely and young, and not the girls he had known some ten years ago when they'd been on their second journey to Cephiro.

Hikaru noticed him first. She'd seen his photograph, so he was not a complete surprise to her. She bowed slightly at her waist before running to him to capture him in an excited hug. He surrendered to it and hugged her back with all that was in him.

Walking on silent cat's-feet, Fuu came near them full of her own disbelief, "Clef-san?"

Tilting his head, he replied her name with a smile that curled his lips and dazzled all the way to the golden hoops in his ears.

She looked at him with tears misting her eyes, though not yet falling. The hug she gave him was more stately than Hikaru's ever exuberant display.

Sneaking into the hub of activity, Scott stepped inside the doorway. "I put all their things by your step." he whispered in Umi's ear.

She tilted her head to him, taking her eyes off the reunion on the other side of the kitchen. "How did they get here, Scott?"

Speaking softly, only for her ears he replied, "I asked them to come. Even though you'd canceled our wedding plans, I thought maybe you needed your best friends to help take you home. Maybe it would make you not feel so sad."

She smiled appreciatively and nodded her thanks at his profound kindness.

Being the very example of poise, Umi walked to get her friends from Clef declaring that she was going to help them settle into her bungalow for their visit. Then the three young women left Americans and Clef behind in the kitchen.

* * *

"He looks so different," Fuu said once they were inside Umi's place at the ranch. They were sitting on her comfortable sofa ready to chat and catch up on all that was important.

While Clef's appearance was not as much of a surprise to her, Hikaru's old feelings were. "Seeing him makes me miss Lantis," she sighed.

Frowning prettily, Fuu said, "And I miss Ferio."

Silence lived in the room as they reflected their old loves for longer than most people would be comfortable.

"So what's going to happen with you two now?" Fuu wanted to know after the ponderous moment was over. She was trying to think logically and calmly.

The corners of Umi's expressive mouth twitched. What could she say? She and Clef certainly weren't a couple yet. Maybe they could work on it, but if they kept having misunderstandings, they might never get that far.

Stating the truth as she knew it, Umi replied, "I will enjoy the time I still have with him."

"But aren't you going to tell him you love him?" Hikaru insisted in a scandalized tone.

The Water Knight held holding back a sob. "Oh, I've told him many times, but," she qualified after Hikaru's pointed look, "not since he's regained his memory."

"Then it seems a fresh start is what you need," Fuu declared as if that solved everything.

"But I'm leaving soon!" Umi wailed. Normally she would not be so petulant, but this unsure situation made her feel stress and confusion. "And even if it doesn't matter, neither one of us is sure how he got to Earth!"

"Can he go back?" Fuu asked shrewdly.

Umi had opened her mouth to speak, but it was Hikaru who interrupted her. "I don't think he can."

"Why not?" Umi asked with interest, curling her legs underneath her as she listened to Hikaru's theory.

"With the pillar system broken, unless there is someone to call him back to Cephiro, this was a one-way trip. There were no other mages as good as him."

"This is true," the blue-eyed woman muttered.

"Miss Umi, did _you_ bring him here?" Fuu asked, her eyes sparkling with an idea. "When did you say you saw first saw him?"

"On my birthday," she responded, vaguely remembering the person standing in front of their vehicle frozen like a deer caught in front of the headlights.

Wyndham's knight smiled excitedly, and glanced at Hikaru for validation. "Did you have a cake? Did you make a wish?"

Scoffing, Umi said, "Well, yes, I... Oh. _Oh_!"

She sat in stunned silence. It surely couldn't have been that simple. She didn't have the power of the pillar in this world or Cephiro. Could her wish have brought him to her? She thought back to that birthday party, being surrounded by her friends, and to the simple wish she'd made. She hadn't wished for him, at least she hadn't done so deliberately. She'd just opened her heart and then blew out the candles.

"I'm going to have to talk to him," Umi declared.

"Of course you will if you love him, and I know you do," Hikaru said as a gentle tease.

Yawning a few minutes later, Fuu requested that no matter when Umi had the talk with Clef she would like to sleep right away. It had been a long time of travel for them, and both she and Hikaru were weary. Abashed at her breach of hostess manners, Umi showed her friends to where they would be sleeping during their short stay with her.

* * *

When the morning came, Hikaru went on a walk by herself to see the place where Umi had been working. It was lovely in its own wild way as opposed to the urban areas in Tokyo and much of the rest of Japan.

She smiled to herself when she heard the footsteps behind her. They were neither stealthy not did it appear they were trying to be. There was a surprising amount of grace to it if one considered that his leg had been broken a few months ago.

"Magic Knight," Clef said softly. He'd not spoken that out loud yet, not even to Umi.

The woman's smile in return after hearing her appellation dazzled him.

"How are you?" she asked, interested in any of the answers he may choose to tell her.

He indicated for her to walk with him, and he took the time to show her the river that he'd once fallen in while chasing the pages of his book. "Hikaru, I'm afraid. There is so much uncertainty in my future, and I am no longer sure where I belong.

"And magic," he dropped his voice in case anyone might be close enough to hear them, "it's only a child's game here. I have none, and I just don't know how to be this way. It also makes me sorry once again for all that you three had to do to be our Magic Knights."

Hikaru smiled softly and squeezed his hand. Clef was not a man who shared his doubts or fears, so this new Clef on Earth was truly a new creature, in spirit as well as in body.

"We were talking last night, and I think I might know how you got here. I'd like to know your side of the story if you'll tell me," she encouraged. "What were you doing before you got here?"

Clef sighed in frustration. "I've said this already. I was alone in my garden. There was absolutely nothing unusual about the day in Cephiro."

"Did you think of Umi?" she asked mischievously.

Not wanting to make a full admission, he hedged by saying, "It's possible."

"Oh, Clef. You and Umi really need to talk. I think I know what happened with you two, but it will be much more special to you if you figure it out together."

He pursed his lips while thinking and finally commented that he would have to talk to her. "Hopefully without interruptions this time."


	20. Food Fight

**CHAPTER 20:  
Food Fight**

Back in his room, Clef paced the small space. He reminded himself of Fyula swimming in circles in his bowl. So Hikaru thought all the secrets would be revealed if he but talked with Umi. He hadn't done that yet, and he cursed himself for not doing it sooner. How stupid he was!

In the kitchen, he could hear the noises of breakfast clearing away. Later in the afternoon would be a kendo demonstration from Hikaru and then the small party with Umi's graduation cakes. Time was running away too fast, and he still didn't have any answers nor an understanding of the situation between him and Umi.

With determination, he opened his door and stalked down the hallway to the kitchens. Umi was in there alone by this time. She had most of her hair up in a chef's hat that looked rather cute with her apron that was fastened around her waist. She moved from station to station within the kitchen with the grace that she had when she handled a rapier. He recognized that.

"Umi, we have to talk," he barked. "I can't wait any longer."

"Well, it will have to wait while I make these cakes, unless you can talk and stay out of my way at the same time," she said sharply.

"Umi!" he said in frustration, clenching his fists at his side.

She'd been busy mixing ingredients and hadn't looked at him. For every two steps forward in their relationship, they seemed to take one back. She was guilty of it as much as he was, she knew. She hated how she let her temper interfere with things. When he had repeated her name, she looked at him, really looked, taking it all in.

He was dressed with a soft but form-fitting black cotton T shirt that accented his biceps. He also had khaki cargo pants belted at his thin waist. This outfit worked for him, she realized. No, it wasn't a mage's robes and crown, but it showed off his body perfectly. His biceps were lean and strong at the arms of the shirt while his chest and stomach muscles were trim. The pants gave him an air of being confident, as if he was going to strike off for the jungle at any moment. He was... manly. Damn.

Umi blushed to be thinking about him that way. She swatted her embarrassment away. She wasn't a child, and neither one of them was in Cephiro any more.

"What is it?" she eventually asked in an encouraging voice.

"I need to know why I'm here," he breathed softly. "How did I get here to you? Hikaru seems to know, but she says I have to ask you. It will drive me crazy if I don't find out."

"Clef" she said, wiping her hands before coming to stand near him, "I don't know for sure. I only have guesses. But... well, there is something."

He watched her nibble on her bottom lip as if not sure what to say. Her gaze was far off as if remembering something. When her blue eyes turned their attention to him, he saw an expression of soul-deep sadness. Her answering voice was so quiet he had to get closer to her to hear what she said.

"Do you remember the day you came here? Do you know what day it was? No?" she paused as he shook his head no to all things. "It was my birthday, Clef. A day no different than this. After breakfast, my friends had made me a cake and brought it to me to blow out the candles and make a wish. I did that, and that evening we found you."

She was very still, waiting for his reaction and fearing what it would be.

"Was I your wish?" he inquired, his fingers getting twitchy as he wanted to touch her cheek and put a tendril of her hair behind her ear.

"You've always been my wish," she said ruefully, and turned her head to disguise that admission with an embarrassed laugh. "But don't flatter yourself. I never thought I'd see you again in this lifetime. I didn't have anything specific in mind when I blew out those candles, and these people aren't magical. They love me, but it's not Cephiro."

"That I know," he complained, thinking of his own lack of magic.

"I just," she paused in remembrance, "reached out with my heart as you'd taught us. I had no thought or images. I only wanted to be happy, and I thought I was going to be happy with Scott. But I made my wish and told no one until now."

She looked at him in challenge and then distanced herself by going back to mixing her cakes and preparing the pans.

"I have no magic," he blurted. "I'm here now, and something powerful beyond myself brought me here. I can't go back. I knew that perhaps always in the part of myself who still knew he was Clef, but I was certain on the ride to the hospital after I'd left the camping trail. There wasn't even a spark left in me. Unlearned children in Cephiro have more magic than that!"

He rubbed his arms as if he was cold, and maybe he was. He could have felt his magic in that very real way.

"I don't have the magic to loose you from your world, Clef. I never did," she said as she poured one mix into a cake pan. She placed it inside the oven to bake and then put the timer on for it.

"But when two hearts that beat together are determined…" he pondered.

That got her attention. She put her hands down on the wooden butcher block surface of the kitchen island. She waited expectantly for what he might say next.

"Umi, I loved you," he confessed. "Knowing I loved you was my burden to bear. Alone. I felt so guilty that you girls had to come to Cephiro to save us when we couldn't save ourselves. It would have been wrong for me to have wanted more from you. At least, that's what I kept telling myself. It was always to me to behave with decorum."

Umi actually laughed at him, scoffing. "You have as much of a temper as I do, and you want to discuss decorum?"

He frowned and grabbed a handful of flour, lobbing it at her head. A food fight was naturally the epitome of decorum. The flour hit her chef's hat, making it tip precariously as if to fall.

"You know, you left a scar on my heart," he growled. "I never forgot you and thought of you every single day the first years after you left. Then I had to put the thoughts of you away just to function sometimes. I am not weak, but you made me weak!"

Her mocking laughter filled the kitchen, as she pelted him with a ball of butter and sugar mixture. It landed right on his chest, destroying the clean appearance of his black T shirt.

"Do you think you were the only one who was hurt? Do you really? You're such a man sometimes, Clef!"

He swaggered and danced around her as they'd begun to circle each other emulating the way of hand to hand combat. Each of them was ready to pelt the other with portions of cake mix and not stop until the kitchen was a riotous mess.

"Nice of you to notice!" he shouted at her taunt.

"Oh, bite me," she retorted eloquently.

"It's like you were my very own Nova," he stated angrily as he monologued again. "But unlike her left behind in Cephiro, you took a part of me with you when you left. I know that's what you did!"

He threw another gooey handful of the mixture at her face just to emphasize the point.

"Yeah, so what's that mean?" she sneered at him after she wiped the gob off her cheek.

"It means I wanted to be with you!"

"Well, I wanted to be with you, too!" she said in a tone one used for another person who was a complete imbecile.

"So that's it?" he questioned, backing down from his anger a bit. "Me in my garden feeling lonely and thinking of you, and you here on your birthday making a wish?"

"Yes," she said, still not completely down from her anger, "that pretty much sums it up."

"Our thoughts and powers aligned," Clef said in astonishment. The very idea was amazing. But if it was love, the poets of both their lands had said love conquered all.

Their fight at a momentary truce, Umi moved in front of the ovens checking the cakes. It was also an excuse to turn her face away from Clef. She had the cold terror in her veins wondering to herself, _Now what?_ She didn't have to think about it very long when she tried to walk away from the ovens. The mess they'd made from their mini food fight had made it so her foot slipped out from under her, and she fell hard on her outer thigh.

In concern, Clef rushed to her but also fell, landing hard on his side with his head near her knees.

"And this is why we don't rough-house in the kitchen," she gasped in a mocking teacherly way.

"Ungh!" was Clef's inelegant reply. He crawled on his side closer to her, and when his head was close to her knee, he looked up at her.

She reached out to touch his cheek, using a light caress. He was so beautiful to her, and he was hers for the taking. She shifted position from sitting on her hip to sitting on her bottom and then pulled him closer to her. The end result was like he was leaning across her, a position perfect for making it easy to hug him from behind.

She did so, enjoying the feel of him in her arms. There was so much rightness to this, she thought with her eyes closed.

Clef sat up and turned at the waist to better face her. When he placed his left hand on her face, she opened her heavy-lidded eyes. Without much preamble, he leaned forward to gently kiss her lips. They were soft and warm. The kiss was as chaste with him only sucking her bottom lip lightly.

"Oh," she breathed out, letting him come closer to kiss her more fully. She held her hands out like a surgeon after scrubbing, but she used the power in her forearms to grasp him by the shoulders and pull him to her. She was not going to miss any of this kiss.

He put his hands on her waist to hold her, and made a trail of smaller kisses from the corner of her mouth to the side of her throat, which she exposed for him wantonly. The soft sighs of pleasure coming from her mouth drew his attention back there where he kissed her in earnest. Giddily he thought to himself that her mouth tasted better than any cake she could ever make, and he laughed at himself for thinking such a cliché.

At the ringing of the food timer, they jumped as if they'd been caught doing much worse than kissing in the kitchen floor. No one saw them, but they couldn't help laughing nervously about it.

Umi got up apologetically. "I _have_ to finish my cakes so they're ready in time."

"Okay," he replied with an inquiring tilt to his head.

She smiled secretively at his unasked question. "Yes, I want to do that again, but later. And you have to change your shirt."

He looked down at himself and the mess he'd become. "It was worth it," he said smugly before walking out of the kitchens. If he stayed, he would have tried his best to drive her to distraction, and while he would have enjoyed it in the short term, it would have hurt the kids' enjoyment of the graduation party.

* * *

Clef was almost cartoonishly happy when he encountered Steve in the courtyard a few minutes later.

"So tell me about Umi's friend Hikaru," he pounced without comment on the other man's disarrayed clothing.

"Cute, very cute. Loves everyone. And a fighter. She'll knock you on your... well... Let me say, if you fight her at the kendo demonstration, you're going down."

"Fair enough," Steve replied, looking off into the distance where Hikaru was talking with a few of the students. She had the kind of charm that wrapped people around her finger.

Steve didn't know what to ask when he looked at his friend, so he settled for a question of the obvious. "So things are going well then?"

"Yes, they are," Clef answered while taking long strides to where the people including the Japan-loving Joan were gathered around Hikaru. He'd noticed Derrick sitting in the group of students and he had an idea.

He sat down quietly beside the teen and waited, not wanting to rush the conversation. Derrick finally pointed out, "You look like you had a fight with a sack of flour and lost."

"I did," Clef said to him with a twinkle in his eyes. "Listen, I've been thinking about something, and I wondered if I could tell you my idea."

Derrick was still unsure about things with Clef. He'd barely spoken to him since the man's memory had returned, and Johnson was innately distrustful anyway. The normal part of him resented the loss of his friend Harry, even if _he_ had annoyed him, too.

"Do what you want," he said sarcastically. "It's a free country. I can't stop you."

"I'm going to have to leave the ranch soon. I don't know where I'm going yet, but I can't just stay here and live off someone else's kindness without contributing. It wouldn't be right," Clef said while studying the young black man's face.

"You could get a job," Derrick mumbled.

"You're right. I could, and I might. But that's not really what I wanted to talk to you about. I've been thinking, and if it's okay with you, I'd like to give you Fyula. He needs someone to take care of him, and I can't do it if I'm traveling."

Clef held up his long-fingered hand to stop any protests before Derrick could make them. "I know it's just a fish and maybe not the most exciting pet in the world, but I don't know where I'm going or how long I'll be there. I know I can trust you to take care of him."

The teen didn't say anything at first, but he looked over to the building where the kitchens are and saw Umi emerging. She was in her baking outfit and completely destroyed with flour and cake mix. Giving a sidelong glance to Clef, he saw he was the same and looking over at the young woman like a lovesick puppy.

"So are you going back to Japan with Miss Ryuuzaki?"

Shaking his head, Clef stared at him in astonishment. "What!"

"You like her. I just thought you were going to go with her," Derrick replied as if he didn't care.

"I might," he breathed in response. "I haven't talked to her about that yet, and there's something else."

Clef debated the wisdom of confiding in the boy, but he decided Derrick's street smarts would be an advantage in helping him understand. "I don't have any identification of any kind. As far as the government is concerned, I don't exist, and without a passport I'm not getting anywhere near Japan."

He hadn't been speaking loudly. In fact, what he'd said had been only for Derrick's ears, but while the males had been huddled in conversation, Joan Carter walked over to them. Derrick, who still sometimes called her "Creepy Carter", gave her a nasty look. She paused without joining conversation, and after an uncomfortable pause with her staring at them, she sped off to her office like she was on a mission.


	21. Departures

**CHAPTER 21  
Departures**

Several hours later, students and staff were gathered in the large dining room to have the graduation party for Will and the others of his class. Presents exchanged, and speeches were made. It was mostly a fun time for all except those who were naturally sentimental about old friends moving on to new chapters in their lives.

Fuu and Joan entered with their heads huddled together. It was unusual for Joan to be late to anything, so that threw up a few flags to some of her friends. Seeing the young Japanese woman with her, they didn't ask her more. They just assumed it was another example of Joan's over-interest in all things Japanese.

Hikaru and Steve were talking with each other. She'd beaten him soundly, just as Clef had predicted. For someone who'd been solidly defeated, he looked rather happy. He seemed entranced as he stared at the red-haired woman with stars in his eyes.

"I recognize that look," Jessie whispered in his ear.

"What? What look?" Steve answered with as much innocence as possible.

She raised a single eyebrow and then inclined her head to the visiting kendo expert. "She's going back to Japan when Umi leaves, so if you're going to make a move, you'd better act fast, killer."

He laughed at her use of the nickname. Steve really loved Jessie, and it was in a moment like that where he appreciated her most as the true friend she was. "I'll see what I can do, hot stuff."

Umi and Clef arrived to the dining area separately a few minutes later, both wearing clean clothing with no evidence of the food fight they'd had previously. Upon seeing her friend, Fuu strode over to her.

"You're glowing like a firefly! It's so wonderful to see you so happy," she enthused.

In simple answer, Umi replied, "It's good to _feel_ this happy."

"I think… Well, I think we might have a surprise to help with more happiness later," Fuu said in her best effort not to give away the nature of the secret.

"You know how I hate surprises!" Umi protested with her mouth agape.

Fuu shrugged and smiled again, but this time like the Cheshire Cat from the story books.

* * *

Elsewhere, Scott found Clef to talk to him. It had been so difficult for the young man having him here no matter what name he used. His presence interrupted the calm of his world. It was difficult not to resent him, but the fair part of his psyche tried to let it go.

At the sound of his name, Clef turned to Scott, fixing his blue eyes on his green ones. "You remind me of someone I know at home. I never told you that, but I hadn't remembered it until just recently."

Clef pointed to his head for emphasis. Then he continued, "He was much like you, and he became a very strong, ethical man. I feel proud to have known him. As I know you…"

Holding out his hand, the once-mage said formally, "I thank you for all you've done for me. I would not have been able to survive here without you."

Scott swallowed hard while thinking of the best response before he decided upon, "It was the right thing to do."

"Not many people choose to do the right thing," Clef observed as he scanned the crowd.

He was always aware of Umi's presence, but this time he didn't have to hide the fact that he was actively looking for her. By the time he saw her, she was talking to Hikaru. He could never shake the impression of the Magic Knights when the three were together.

"So what are you going to do? I assume you're leaving," Scott said, interrupting Clef's ruminations as Mr. Templeton came to join their cluster of conversation.

"You can stay here longer if you need," Richard offered.

Mouth agape at his generosity, Clef responded, "No, I can not. I have taken too much without giving in return. Though you are kind, I would not be able to live with myself if I took advantage of you."

"That's precisely why you won't," Mr. Templeton responded with a quirk of his mouth.

He couldn't hold his sarcastic retort in check. "I think you have too much faith in humanity."

"Dad, why _would_ he stay here? He wants to be with Umi," Scott said dryly before his father could react to previous comment.

Richard gave Clef a considering look out of the corner of his eye before taking a sip of his beverage, and Clef did his best not to respond. There was no denying of the truth. He would not stay at the ranch longer if she wasn't there.

"Good luck to you," he said after another sip of punch and clapped Clef on the shoulder.

* * *

Later in the festivities, a dinner bell rang to announce the special procession of Umi's cakes. Sounds of appropriate appreciation were heard all over the room. An individual cake was put on Will's table that he shared with his friends. He stood up to give a speech to the room, but was short and sweet.

The party got quieter as the people in attendance ate with friends at various tables. When the adults were gathered at one large table, it was reminiscent of Clef's first dinner with them as Harry, but this time it included friends Hikaru and Fuu.

Joan put her fork down on her plate loud enough to get the attention of the adults at her table. "I have an announcement," she stated importantly, standing to build tension.

The look she shared with Fuu had that same secretive look that Umi had seen earlier. Because of it, Umi was immediately on her defenses. Whatever the big reveal was, this was probably going to be it.

"We all know that Umi is returning to Japan in a few days. We will miss her, but sadly life goes on. Don't forget that phone calls and the internet work both ways," she admonished.

"And now we have the matter of Clef," Joan continued, gesturing to him in example. "He came to us as Harry, and we grew to care about him, too. And it seems that he and Umi have a not-so-secret-anymore history together."

Steve shuffled in his seat wondering where all this was going. Scott didn't look like he was faring any better. Jessie was the one who spoke for the group. "Hurry up, Joan. We know this part."

Drawing in a deep breath, she looked at Clef. "I overheard what you said to Derrick. I have a friend in the Department of Defense thanks to my teaching aspirations to work overseas. That kind of thing is useful for getting a placement where you want to go. So I pulled a few strings, and I've got your travel documents if you need them. Well, I don't have them right _now_ but they'll be here by the time Umi leaves if you want to go to Japan with her."

Fuu put her fists up to her lips and giggled from behind her knuckles. Usually Hikaru was the excitable one of the trio, but she couldn't help herself, especially not when she'd helped Joan plan this so brilliantly.

Both Umi and Clef gave Joan dumb looks. Their silence stretched on so long that she started to get worried. "Aren't you the least bit happy?"

"I honestly don't know what to say," Umi said as she averted her eyes.

"We hadn't even discussed it yet, Joan. I hadn't asked to go with her," Clef said hesitantly.

"Because you didn't think you could! I heard you, you know. Well, now you can if you want to," she said triumphantly and sat down.

The pair looked shell-shocked and uncomfortable. Patricia leaned forward as the voice of reason and placed her hand on Clef's forearm. "Maybe you two should go have a walk to discuss this."

"Yes, yes. Good idea," he said, getting up to leave the table.

Umi followed him without protest, though she looked at Hikaru and Fuu over her shoulder before she left the dining room.

* * *

When he'd changed from their food fight, he wore dark blue jeans instead of the khaki cargo pants he'd initially been wearing. As he was walking in contemplation, he had his thumbs secured in the belt loops and the tips of his fingers in the pockets. Beside him, Umi walked with her long hair unbound and blowing softly in the light breeze.

"So… Japan," he said, feeling stupid because he couldn't have an intelligent opening.

"It's lovely this time of year," she said, daring to look up at him. It was strange this feeling of shyness she had around him in the present moment because it was so different from the intimacy of their shared kisses in the kitchen only a few hours earlier.

"Is it?" he said, with a distracted tone. His mind was running a mile a minute, yet he couldn't settle on one coherent thought.

Remembering her boldness, Umi replied, "It is when you share it with someone you love."

He stopped walking and reached out to touch a lock of hair swirling around her. He smiled in bemusement because it was like a living current of her water element.

"I want to be there with you," he confessed.

"Then come," she said in a tired yet final sound.

He opened his mouth a few times and didn't say anything as he mentally searched for the right words. "I wasn't sure I could go, and I didn't want to assume you wanted me there. Umi, we only figured out a _few hours ago_ how I even came here!"

She looked at him with the patience one saves for a stupid person. "Isn't the fact that you're here enough for you to know I want you to be with me wherever I am?"

He gave a nervous laugh as his way to agree with her. Then he nodded.

"Then come," she repeated. "We'll end this part of our lives and then start a new one together. My mother will be so happy to meet you, by the way. She always suspected I was heartbroken over a boy, and she never knew how right she was," Umi replied, putting her hand to his cheek.

He put his hand on top of hers, letting his love for her shine in his eyes. "I will be there, and thank all the gods from here to Cephiro for Joan's friend in the Department of Defense."

"Good," she said as she rose on the tips of her toes to give him a sealing kiss.

* * *

Packing for Clef was easy. He didn't have many personal things to keep because most of his mementos he gave away to students and friends. For some reason Will was interested in his staff, so it was bestowed upon him as a graduation present. Meanwhile, Derrick had already accepted Fyula.

Fuu and Hikaru helped pack the rest of Umi's belongings. The furniture she had already arranged to sell before she had decided to move back to Japan. It was only the reason that had changed, not the outcome. Had she married Scott, they would have gotten new things as a couple anyway.

The departure day arrived, and Clef was nervous. "You're sure the courier will meet us at the airport?" he asked Joan.

"Yes," she said, "but that doesn't mean we should waste time getting there." To help that end, she was the one taking the quartet to their flight.

The Templeton family, Jessie and Steve waited near the van to give parting hugs to the friends they had made. While Jessie was embracing Clef and whispering final words in his ear, Hikaru had impishly gone up to Steve and kissed him on the cheek. He put his hand to his face as if to cover where her lips had been, and he actually blushed to the roots of his hair. He laughed at her nervously as she smiled back.

Umi's moment with Scott was not filled with words. She looked at him as if to will him to understand all that she had in her heart. He reached to hug her close, and she came to him willingly. She hugged him as if to touch heart to heart.

"Thank you," she breathed out.

He framed her face in his hands, and looked back at her with no anger. "I will always love you, Umi."

"Then I am the luckiest woman alive," she said, meaning it despite how trite it sounded.

The group loaded up in the van, and as they drove away the five people at the ranch waved after them.

* * *

Joan waited with them at the airport until the courier arrived with Clef's travel documents. The small window of time increased the tension the former mage had been feeling. He had to admit he was sweating under pressure. Once the documents were obtained, they had almost no time to spare for clearing airport security and customs.

Belting himself into his aisle seat in the airplane, Clef finally let out the breath he'd been holding. "Nothing but the future now," he muttered.

Umi, sitting to his left, laced her fingers with his. "It will be amazing as long as we're together," she said with a smile.

"So I've been wondering something," he said as he turned his head to look at her. "Do I speak Japanese?"

That set her off on twitters of laughter. "You'll learn quickly, and there's only one thing you need to know right now."

"What's that?" he said with interest.

As she opened her mouth to tell him she loved him, she realized how she'd so thoroughly picked up American mannerisms. "I'll have to tell you later," she teased.

"At least we have a later," he said, looking at her with reverence and wonder.

This was not the way he expected his life to go, and being a person without magic was something he still struggled daily to accept. In contrast, his inner optimist was finding his voice because he felt with Umi at his side, everything would be okay. He kissed her temple, and then turned his attention back to the flight attendants doing the pre-takeoff safety demonstrations.

"Japan, here I come," he declared softly.

**THE END**


End file.
